West Ham United manager David Moyes has commended Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte for prioritising his health over his job.
The Spurs manager will be absent from the dugout on Sunday afternoon when Tottenham host the Hammers after undergoing gallbladder surgery earlier this month, having briefly returned to the dugout for defeats away at Leicester City and AC Milan.
However, having missed the 1-0 win over Manchester City and then returned for two games, Conte has announced that he will remain in Italy following a post-operation check-up, admitting he "underestimated" the effects of his recent surgery.
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Although not for surgery, it brings similarities to when Moyes had to take a brief spell away from the sidelines after testing positive for coronavirus, missing four matches across September and October 2020.
While Conte's hand has been forced to miss out Sunday’s London derby and potentially more matches, the Hammers boss has praised his Italian counterpart for being able to step away and look after his help.
"Antonio has got to do it. I was only off with Covid, and I could have still come down, but it would have been no good for me and the health of others," said Moyes.
"Sometimes being the boss, if you are not well or not in the right mood, it is better not being there at all, being big enough to step aside and do what’s right.
"I hope Antonio has made the right decision."
In recent years, both in football and other sports such as cricket, players have been known to have taken breaks for the benefit of their own mental health and wellbeing.
With the gruelling schedule facing modern managers, whose breaks are often few and far between, Moyes was asked whether more managers could consider taking short-term breaks away from the game to enhance their own health and careers.
Moyes, who could be facing a season of over 11 months long across all competitions, admits that life as a manager off the field can be very challenging, highlighting the strains of being a manager at the top level.
"We get international breaks and it wouldn’t be wrong if a manager went and had a week off, you can understand it because it is the chance to get a break and you may not get many other opportunities," said Moyes. "At the end of the season when you hear us say we need to get away, you can imagine it, because when you sign up to the job, we come back on July 1. We then don’t finish until May the 28th.
"We have had a World Cup but just take that out for now. I hope personally our season doesn’t finish until June 7 because that means we are in the Europa Conference League final. If that was the case we have gone from July 1 to June 7 and you are asking a manager to go through that whole period without missing a day or not being in.
"Of course, we get a day off here and there but ultimately you are working every weekend, you are in a hotel every second weekend if you are away from home, so you do see the strains of modern management come through.
"I did 11 years at one club but I am not sure that managers will be able to do long, long stints at clubs because there are bigger stress and health issues."
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