West Ham United manager David Moyes spoke to the media at length on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Hammers’ Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg clash against Gent on Thursday night.
The Hammers are currently drawing 1-1 with the Buffalos going into the second leg at the London Stadium, knowing victory will see them face either Anderlecht or AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals.
Here is every word Moyes said on the game, dreams of a European trophy, team selection, expiring players’ contracts and more.
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Is the pressure off you after drawing against Arsenal?
No, I wouldn’t say that at all. The players performed incredibly well, put in a good performance and one which saw us get a well-earned point.
Do you go into the game with more confidence?
I think the performance gave everyone a lift, because we played much better than we have done. We hope it gives us a lift going into this game now on Thursday. If we can perform at those levels we give ourselves a great chance of qualifying for a semi-final.
Does that set your levels for what is needed from the rest of this season?
Let’s be fair, we’ve probably set the levels with how we’ve played over the last two years. That’s probably why expectation is so high now. Recently, we’ve not played as well as we’d like but in the Arsenal game we played really, really well. Let’s hope we can continue.
Does being the favourites for this competition add anything?
No because a manager’s job is to raise expectations. Isn’t it incredible that West Ham are expected to win the Conference League? There’s only three European competitions to be in and to think that people say we’re worthy of it says a lot.
Does Jose Mourinho’s celebration prove that it’s a very credible trophy?
I don’t think there’s any tournament… Everyone wants you to play your best team in all the cup games so why would you not be trying to win this competition? I’m guessing the payout is greater than for any cup competition in this country?
Will you be naming a strong team?
I wouldn’t give that out but over the years we’ve had to chop and change. If you’re good enough to be in the Champions League you get games on the Tuesday or Wednesday night and you’re able to play on Saturday or Sunday. The hardest thing if you’re in the Europa League or the Conference is you have to play Thursday and Sunday so that does have an impact on all managers and their decision making. It’s not quite as easy as saying put out your best team. There’s a bit more to it than that.
How is Nayef Aguerd after his foot injury?
Yeah, we expect Nayef to be okay. He had a foot injury which he got in the game against Gent over there and didn’t recover in time for Sunday, but he’s back in training and we should have him available.
Can you threaten more against Gent than you did in the first leg?
I believe so. We’re at home, big crowd behind us, we’ve had a couple of nights against Seville and Lyon in similar stages to what we’re in now so hopefully we can rise to the occasion and see ourselves through.
Is this game as important as previous historic nights in Europe?
I can’t see why it would be less important, just because it’s the Conference compared to the Europa League. It’s only the name which is different. Winning a European competition means everything to anybody. We’re going to try and do the best we can.
Is the meeting with Gent bigger than the game against Bournemouth?
We’re certainly not comparing them but we’ve always said that you have to win the next game. Your job as a manager is always to attempt to win the next game.
What do you think your reasons are for winning just three games out of ten in Thursday/Sunday weeks this season?
It’s Thursday-Sunday. If you look at the teams involved in this type of football it becomes difficult. It’s not easy to explain if you don’t quite know what goes into the preparation and the organisation behind the scenes. But would we give it up? No, we wouldn’t. We’ve won ten games in Europe and drawn one and we’re proud of that record.
How wary do you have to be of Gent?
Really wary. Gent are a difficult side. When you get to the last eight of any competition, very rarely are you getting any poor sides in it, they’ve all worked very hard to get there, especially in European football where you’ve had group stages and you’ve had to play teams twice. I think Gent dropped out of the Europa League as well so they were in the competition above. So we have to play very well.
Is tomorrow the chance for another iconic European night like you’ve had in recent years?
I believe it’s an opportunity and we have to try and take it. That’s what it is. There’s no given right that you deserve to win because people might see you as favourites. We have to earn the right to get through into a semi-final. We earned the right to win the group, we earned the right to be in the position we’re in, we earned the right to be in this competition by finishing seventh in the Premier League last year. If we want to be semi-finalists we have to earn the right tomorrow night.
Considering you could face Anderlecht again in the semi-finals, do you see that as another very winnable game?
I can only concentrate on the next game and trying to beat Gent. They made it very difficult for us in the first game. In any cup competition in this country, whoever you play, it could go either way. I would never take anything for granted and I know we’ll have to play very well to get through.
Is this another nervy game for you?
I’ve not seen many games where teams are winning very comfortably, games have been pretty tight in Europe. I would expect it to be another tight game. we’ve got to hope we can do what we have to do to win but I’d expect it to be a difficult game.
Do you feel you have enough experience in Europe to get through this game?
We’ve been here before, which hopefully will help. But a lot of teams in Europe have, we hadn’t, at West Ham. So we didn’t know how the players were going to react in the games. But also last year we had great momentum most of the season. We started to pull up a little bit short because of the Thursday-Sunday games right at the end. Because when you’re playing the likes of Lyon, Seville, Frankfurt in two-legged games, it’s very difficult not to play your better team and better players in those games. Then you’ve got the Premier League games to follow that on the Sunday. We’re getting to the sickly bit now, knowing that we have to play well, and put a team out that’s good enough to get a result.
Was the performance against Arsenal what a David Moyes team should be?
Definitely. We want that as a basic. We want the basics. Then from that we want to build on lots of other things: improving our football, our style, the way we play. All those things. But if you don’t have those first fundamental things, then you don’t have it. Let’s be fair, for the last couple of years we’ve had those fundamentals; we’ve done those basics really well. All those things have been part of our DNA. We saw it in a different way at the weekend, and it’s now for the players to pick that up, me to lead them and show them how we want it done, and hopefully we can do that.
Have you had to take a step back from your planned progression this season because of your league position?
I’ve been here twice before when we’ve had to get ourselves out of a difficult league position. There’s a way you have to get that job done. Expectations then were that we wanted to be a different type [of club?]. But we’ve not reached those expectations, so we have to find a way to win, get results. We’re started to show signs of that, and we’re going to have to continue that until the end of the season. But European football has been so good for us. We’ve had ten wins and one draw last week, away from home in a quarter-final, which at any time would be seen as a good result, but because of our expectations and how we’ve done in Europe, it was seen as maybe not so good. But that’s what happens when you start to raise expectations. So tomorrow night we hope we can keep those expectations high and try and get ourselves towards a semi-final.
Would you be relaxed if it goes to a penalty shootout, considering the number of penalty takers you have had this season?
Would I be quite relaxed? I don’t think any manager would be relaxed, in a penalty shootout you’ve always got anxiety. We’re seeing some outrageous numbers with penalty shootouts nowadays — 10-9, things like that. I’m confident we’ve got people who are good strikers of the ball, maybe been in these situations before. But you have to remember we lost a penalty shoot out against Blackburn earlier in the season, so it can easily happen.
Is it a good time to play this second leg, coming off that Arsenal performance?
I think we’ve given ourselves a real boost, a real shot in the arm. Our levels at Arsenal compared to Thursday night were hugely different. I think we had seven players who started against Arsenal who didn’t start against Gent. So there was a little bit of that. A few changes. That gave us a bit of freshness for the Arsenal game as well. Not everybody was tied up with energy deficiency after the game in Gent.
Do you think you will name a mixed team similarly to how you managed the games with AEK Larnaca, having one eye on the Bournemouth game?
We have to. We’ve got the last few hurdles of the Grand National to go now. We’ve got to keep at it, keep going, get over the next few jumps and then hopefully you can see the finish line.
Lukasz Fabianski turned 38 this week and is among those out of contract this summer. Have talks taken place with those players yet?
No, because we’ve been solely concerned with our league positions. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some things done shortly.
Only Billy Bonds and Bobby Moore have lifted major West Ham trophies as captains. Would it be fitting that Declan Rice did the same?
Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds are two of the finest players and names a lot of people will remember no matter what team you support. I think that’s a big thing, not just for whoever’s captain, and that’s Dec at the moment, but I think that’s a big incentive for the club. It feels that long since the club has been close to a trophy.
How much would it mean for you to lift a trophy?
I’ve had one or two bits in my career, but not the big ones. I’m in awe of the likes of Jose Mourinho and Pep [Guardiola], the people who win trophies, they’re incredible managers. But if you look through the history of managers there’s not many who actually go on to do it. I’ve got a few, a community shield and a few other bits of pieces, but I’ve not got enough, that’s for sure.
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