West Ham striker Danny Ings is set to face his former club Aston Villa this weekend, with David Moyes predicting that he will get the goals needed to fire the relegation-threatened club out of trouble come May. Ings’ first month with West Ham was hindered by a knee injury which he sustained during his debut against Everton. After making a recovery, he scored brace in the 4-0 win against Nottingham Forest, showcasing a clinical edge in front of goal that the Hammers have lacked all season. Moyes’ side then lost 4-0 themselves against high-flying Brighton at the Amex, with Ings playing a full 90 minutes for the first time for his new team. Speaking on Friday ahead of the loss at Brighton,
David Moyes said: “I actually think in many ways, hopefully it has helped Danny. He’s had a chance. I think he said to us it was probably the longest he has played for a long time regarding minutes. I think it was the best part of 70 or 80 minutes he played [against Forest], so he thinks that was the longest he has played for a while. It’s not getting him fitter, but it’s getting him back into that mode where he’s ready to play that level of minutes. He’s more someone that over the years has been been reliable with his goals, types of goals, how he scored and I thought he sort of scored two typical Danny Ings goals [against Forest], which are the kind we could do with getting. The sort where he’s got a chance and he’ll score. Again, I said to him, one that he missed with his head, which was one that he got in the first-half which he didn’t quite get his shot away, the boy sort of toe poked it away. I think getting into those situations where if we keep getting him in and playing him in, he’ll get the goals. We’ve got two big European nights where he’s available to play for us, which is really important for us as well. Then, we have a break. We’ve got two league games [Brighton and Aston Villa], two European games to play before the break. I hope Danny is ready to play in them all. It might be that he doesn’t play every minute but we’re hoping that he’s fit and available for all of them.”
