David Moyes says his choice would be West Ham United avoiding relegation from the Premier League over lifting the Europa Conference League.
After back-to-back top seven finishes, the Hammers have had a disappointing 2022/23 Premier League campaign, currently stuck in a battle to avoid relegation along with eight other teams.
At present, Moyes’ men are 15th in the table but are level on points with Bournemouth who occupy the last relegation spot, with Leicester City and Southampton also in the bottom three.
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There have been many twists and turns already in the relegation battle, with West Ham dropping in and out of the drop zone on a regular basis. Ahead of facing Newcastle United on Wednesday night, the Irons have the advantage of two games in-hand over their rivals.
Amongst the doom and gloom, West Ham’s progress in Europe has been one of very few positives this term. The Hammers have won all ten games in their run to a Europa Conference League quarter-final against KAA Gent, with the first leg of the tie taking place in Belgium next Thursday (April 13).
Best case scenario, West Ham captain Declan Rice lifts the Conference League trophy in Prague on June 7 and the club spends the summer preparing for another season in the top-flight after avoiding relegation.
But if the Hammers boss had to make a choice, Moyes believes the main priority would be for the club stay in the Premier League before silverware. He said: “It’s funny, I heard someone on the radio saying: ‘I would rather get relegated and win a trophy’. I thought: ‘nobody really thinks that, do they?’
“But we’re in a great position. Not regarding relegation, but regarding Europe, we’ve got a great chance of getting to a final – we’ve got a lot of work still to do and we’ll need to play well, but we’re in a really good position in Europe.
“It is very hard, you see some of the clubs who’ve gone out, and we’ve got a great record. Ten unbeaten in a year, had to start with a play-off game, so I’m really hoping we can make something out of it.
“It might not be the way I would want it around, but a supporter of West Ham might quite like the thought of it being the other way around. It wouldn’t be my choice, I don’t think it would be the owners’ or the club’s choice. But if we were to get close to winning a trophy it would be huge here.”
The West Ham boss also admitted that playing in Europe has made it difficult to prepare for important league fixtures that could have an impact in the club’s mission to avoid relegation.
After the first leg in Belgium, the Hammers face Premier League leaders Arsenal at the London Stadium before Gent travel to the English capital for the second leg, with a relegation six-pointer at Bournemouth to follow.
“It makes a big impact,” said the West Ham boss. “If we didn’t get the points then we might have a difficulty going into European games. Coming back on a Thursday, then we’ve got Arsenal after that, then Bournemouth after that.
“If you look at those two games one’s a top team one’s down at the bottom, so when you’ve got a game on the Thursday night it really affects your preparation for those two games.”
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