West Ham manager David Moyes has played down Cristiano Ronaldo's angry reaction to being substituted against Brentford on Wednesday ahead of their visit to Manchester United this afternoon.
Ronaldo — who returned to the starting line-up at the Brentford Community Stadium after two games out with a hip problem — was substituted and replaced by Harry Maguire with 71 minutes on the clock, with United 2-0 up.
The former Real Madrid man was less than impressed with interim manager Ralf Rangnick's decision to take him off, throwing his tracksuit coat to the floor before cutting a frustrated figure on the bench.
And while some supporters questioned Ronaldo's response, Rangnick played down the incident, insisting that it was nothing unusual for any player that wanted to stay on the pitch and get himself a goal.
And that matches the viewpoint held by former United boss Moyes, who believes Ronaldo shows the necessary leadership that his old club are in need of.
"You can have a big ego and not be a d***head," Moyes said, insisting that he sees Ronaldo 'driving all the players on, showing leadership'.
"You're talking about, what, the best player in the world? He's phenomenal, that he can do what he's done.
"For me the biggest thing about Ronaldo is his hunger to play and his hunger to not let up. For a manager he must be a great player.
"He's got a level of commitment, preparation, dedication to the game and himself which will always give him a chance of being effective. At big clubs you'll always get players with egos."
Meanwhile, Moyes, who will arrive at Old Trafford this afternoon with his side three places and two points better off than United in the table, has rubbished suggestions that the Hammers are now ahead of his former club in terms of size and stature.
Moyes continued: "I don't think any manager wants d***heads. I love team players. People who are really committed and are going to work.
"Hopefully we can add to the squad. But what I don't want to do is waste any money. I would rather keep it and pay bigger for someone next summer if I have to.
"When you go to United, it's like looking out of the penthouse window on the rooftops. You're higher up. You see everything because they're right at the top of world football.
"There will be a lot of people thinking they are not at the moment, but as a football club, because of what they've got, they are.
"So, I've had a chance to see, and that's what I want to do with West Ham. I've had a chance to see what it's like and I want the opportunity to get back to that level.
"In the short time I've been here we've taken the fast lift to the top. The job now is to make sure we're able to maintain it and stay there.
"We are still building here at West Ham. We have to keep putting a few layers on before we can be talked about as challenging."
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