NEW manager, New Year. Well, not exactly new because David Moyes has been with us before.
I don’t like these times and yet there is no solution to the simple fact that when your team is floundering and drifting away from the shoreline — in this case, relegation — then any crew worth their salt has to act firmly.
David Moyes has returned to West Ham full of energyCredit: Getty – Contributor
David was a ready answer for West Ham once it was clear the team were struggling and confidence had not been restored by a couple of wins among far too many defeats.
Beating Bournemouth 4-0 at home was a motivational start for the new man.
Our board are not natural manager sackers. Making the decision to change a manager is never an easy one and it was with disappointment that we had to part company with Manuel Pellegrini after the Leicester loss.
When we appointed Pellegrini on a handsome three-year contract, we hoped it would be for many years and accompanied by some success — plus we invested heavily in the squad.
He certainly had the past record and I have to say that I was mystified as to why the team’s form collapsed after a good start.
Joint chairmen, David Sullivan and David Gold, had the usual dilemma in such a circumstance, whether to be patient and wait or move in time to give his successor a realistic chance of dragging the team away from the relegation pit.
They chose Moyes who had done the job for us previously.
So we became the third Premier League club in six weeks to dispense with a manager. The most important reason for doing so was, we felt, the interests of our supporters.
West Ham battered Bournemouth 4-0 on Moyes’ return to the clubCredit: Getty – Contributor
The risk in keeping Pellegrini, an admirable man, became just too great.
In David Moyes returning to the club, we know where his strengths lie.
He convinced us of his hunger to succeed, and that’s why we were keen for him to return.
Not only does he bring a great wealth of experience and know-how of the Premier League works, he has arrived with an abundance of energy.
Crucially, he knows West Ham and built very strong relationships with everyone during his previous spell at the club, which we believe will help him hit the ground running.
That was clear for all to see on New Year’s Day when the side beat the Cherries 4-0 — our biggest ever Premier League win at the London Stadium, a place I know he is determined to make a fortress.
He was only able to work with the squad for a few days so that’s where his man-management skills came in.
Moyes wants to make the London Stadium a fortressCredit: Getty Images – Getty
We are confident he will get the best out of a squad he has described as strong and full of quality. We all know football is a results game and our focus now is to try and push up the league. But David is ambitious and he wants to start building something going forward.
The start the team made under his guidance was a good one, but we all know there’s a lot of work to be done and that can only be done with everyone pulling together.
Speaking to him, you get a real sense of desire to give West Ham fans a team that will leave everything on the field, every time they step over that white line, as well as one that will play exciting football.
I know the latter is important to David and that will come more freely once the team have progressed up the table.
Up next for him and the team is a trip to Gillingham in the FA Cup. This is a competition West Ham has a great affiliation with, especially in the season that marks the anniversary of the famous 1980 final victory against Arsenal. The club and David are together on trying to go as far as we can in the competition.
We’re looking forward now to build on the start to our happy New Year and everyone here is committed to making the second half of the season as successful as possible.
David Moyes says he has unfinished business at West Ham as he speaks in first press conference
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
