West Ham United manager David Moyes spoke to the media at length on Friday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s clash against Manchester United.
The Hammers host one of Moyes’ former sides Man United at the London Stadium, hoping to return to winning ways after three straight losses.
Here is every word Moyes said on the game, United, the club’s recent issues with injury, Erik ten Hag, Sam Allardyce, Flynn Downes and more.
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Have Declan Rice, Nayef Aguerd and Tomas Soucek trained after their illness?
They’ve been in today, so today was the first day we’ve had a chance to assess them. They’ve done a little bit of training so I’m hoping that they will all be available for the weekend.
Has anyone else been affected by it?
We’ve got a couple of other people who have [been]. One other player was sent home this morning and we’ve got another one who just said he didn’t feel so good. We’ve just got to hope that we can contain it.
Do you know what the cause is?
No, we don’t, I don’t know if it’s just something we’ve picked up but it looks as if it’s just sickness. The players are getting over it pretty quickly.
What is the latest with Kurt Zouma’s injury?
No, we’re not going to give a sort of timeline on Kurt because we know he is a boy who does improve very quickly, but he’s also got an ankle injury, so we’ve not really got a date for it.
How do you feel about your chances of staying in the Premier League with four matches left to play?
Very confident. If we play to our best we will give any team a very good game. I’m hoping that we play at our best, if we do that, we will certainly gain the extra points we need at this present time.
What did you learn about Manchester United from their defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion?
You learn when you watch all of the good teams play. Manchester United are a really good team, got terrific players. The manager has done a brilliant job this year with them. Overall, they’ve got a good side, Manchester United, but we had to play one of the best teams a few weeks ago in Arsenal. We have play another one of the best Premier League teams in Manchester United, so we’ll have to play very well.
What have you made of the way Erik ten Hag has approached the job as Manchester United manager this season?
I think he’s approached it in a really good way, he’s had a good response and he’s getting Manchester United much closer to the places where they all hoped they may be.
What are your thoughts on Sam Allardyce being back in the Premier League as Leeds United manager?
I’m really pleased Big Sam is back because he’s a terrific football man. Well versed in football and the Premier League. I’m pleased to see him back, but I hope it’s not to the detriment of ourselves.
Do you think you should have got more from your defeat to Manchester United in the league earlier this season?
There’s been a few games this season where we would say the same thing. We did a lot of good things at Old Trafford, but we didn’t come away with a result. If you look at recent seasons, if you think back, Jesse [Lingard] scored the winner I think, but Mark Noble missed the penalty in the 91st minute when I bought him on to score. A few of the games against Manchester United have been pretty close. Hopefully, we give them a good game and obviously, it’s really important.
How will the quick turnaround from this to facing AZ Alkmaar effect team selection? Is there a priority in your mind?
I’ve always said that the Premier League always has to be your priority. When you are starting to talk about the semi-finals of a European competition, then you have another decision as well because it’s something which is something hard to get to, getting to this situation. We have to try and manage both the best we can.
How will you ensure that the additional pressure of a relegation battle will not affect your players?
Well, we’ll continue to play positively and we’ve done that in recent weeks. We’ve had some difficult games but overall, I’ve been pretty pleased with a lot of it.
How important will Michail Antonio’s role be for the rest of the season, given he is only one goal away from his best ever scoring season for the club?
If he keeps in form that he’s been in in the last month or so, then it will give us every chance. He’s getting goals, he’s been harder to play against, he’s been leading the line much better than he has done so I hope he can keep this form up, because it will be really important at a time of the season where you are getting into the big games. Hopefully, he can keep that up.
This will be your 13th time facing Man United since leaving job there. Does it still feel like a bigger game than most for personal reasons?
I probably had 30 games against Manchester United before going to Manchester United. There’s been a lot of games against them over the piece. They’ve always been hugely difficult opponents, but not just to me, but to every manager unless you are managing one of the real top teams. Good, I’m looking forward to it. We need to play at our best. If we play at our best, we will give them a really good game and if we get the crowd behind us the way that we did against Arsenal and the way they supported the team, it will give us a great opportunity of getting a good result.
You have not played a league game without having a midweek game after it since the end of February. Does fatigue have anything to do with the recent bout of illnesses?
Fatigue, as everybody knows, if you are fatigued you are liable to picking up a bug or a virus, of pick up the colds. It can easily happen. I think that the scheduling has been incredibly difficult for us and for other teams. I think Manchester United and ourselves are the teams who have probably had the most difficult scheduling. I do know that the team who has had the most two-day recoveries between games this season [is us]. We’ve had a real difficult schedule. Would I put that down to the reason why we have sickness? No, I wouldn’t necessarily say that but it’s not say that it isn’t.
Do you agree with how late the kick-off time is on Sunday and how tough is it for Manchester United fans to get home?
I think it’s a really difficult kick-off time for away supporters especially. I think our supporters, if we were going up to Old Trafford for a seven o’clock on a Sunday night, we’d be saying it doesn’t sound correct. I’ve been fortunate enough to manage in Europe, in Spain, where there’s lots of Sunday evening kick-offs. It’s part of the culture. I think the thing we find difficult is it’s not really a part of our culture. But let’s be fair, it wasn’t too long ago where we were saying Sunday football wasn’t part of our culture and it’s now a regular thing. I think we’ve got to understand that probably, because of the year we’ve had with the World Cup, there are reasons why some things have had to change. Or maybe, they’re having a look to see, maybe the public will enjoy Sunday night football. I don’t know. But, at the moment, it seems slightly differently culturally to what we’d normally do in this country.
Could you see Flynn Downes as a potential successor to Declan Rice at the club if Rice leaves long-term?
I wouldn’t like you to put them in the same names, the way you’ve done it. Flynn is doing a good job himself. He’s progressing well. I’ve said many times, if you bring boys in from the Championshiip, it can take a bit of time. So can go faster. Flynn has done a good job I think. We’ve trusted him, we’ve played him in a lot of big games. Is he a complete replacement for Declan Rice? I’m not sure about that.
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