David Moyes has called for more from Tomas Soucek after admitting the Czech Republic midfielder has not yet hit the heights he achieved last season for West Ham. During his first full season in a Hammers shirt, Soucek scored ten goals in 38 Premier League appearances but has only managed one so far this season, a tap in from a missed Michail Antonio penalty on the opening day of the campaign. Despite admitting he is a “little bit down” on his form of last season Moyes is confident the midfielder will soon return to his best and end the season with similar numbers to the 2020-21 campaign.
David Moyes said: “Yes, I want more from him but he’s had two narrowly ruled out for offside with two VAR decisions, rebounds off the goalkeeper and he scored and they were ruled out so I think they’ve been has been really tight calls. He had a header a few weeks ago I thought he should have scored from and he didn’t but at the moment Dec’s stepping up with the goals so that’s helped us and that’s covered us a little bit. But I think Tom, I believe by the end of the season will still have got to his target, we’ll still have got goals from Tom come the end of the season.”
Moyes pointed to a change in West Ham’s style of play and that Declan Rice is playing slightly further forward than last season.
David Moyes added: “Our play has slightly changed as well. We’ve been a little bit more hard passing and build up and Tom has been involved in that rather than just sort of making [it into] the box at times and getting on the end of things. So we’ve got to try and benefit from both. We’ve got to try and get him involved in the build-up but also got to try and get him on the end of crosses which has not always [been] the case. The message I’ve got out there is, I don’t know if our deliveries into the box have been as good as they should be from wider areas. I’m looking for better quality in the crosses. To pick people out in the box.”
Soucek is a key player for both club and country and Moyes has pointed to the often unseen work he does off the ball as a positive in his play.
David Moyes said: “This is a boy who’s played in the Euros he plays every game for the Czech Republic, he plays every game for us, we rest him when we can and he’s a boy who has come in, the two Czech boys have come in with an unbelievable appetite and energy and excitement and I have seen bits of Tom where he’s just been a bit ponderous in bits of his play but overall he’s such an asset to us. The work he does, the recovery ground he covers around the pitch is amazing what he does it really is, and a lot of that is unseen, a lot of that goes unseen. But what did get noticed was his goals and I can see the reason why he’s getting picked out.”
It is not only Soucek that Moyes wants to see more from going forward with the managing calling for his attackers to get back to putting the ball in the back of the net after a recent goal drought.
David Moyes added: “I think they have to show more quality at different times, whether that be the finishing, whether that be the one v ones or whether it be choosing the right pass at the right moment. Some of our counterattacking play last year was devastating with the speed of it but this year we’re not having quite as many of those opportunities. Teams are maybe a little bit more wary [of us] so what it means then is we want more one v one situations where we can beat people or be more creative.”
