David Moyes has admitted he is worried West Ham’s busy schedule could hinder their survival hopes and says he may have to prioritise the Premier League over a push for European glory if his side do not pull clear of the danger soon.
The Hammers go into Saturday’s crucial meeting with Southampton in 18th-place, inside the relegation zone on goal difference, though with at least one game in hand on each of their rivals.
As well as the dozen matches remaining to save their domestic season, Moyes’ men are also through to the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they will face Gent.
Should the Irons beat the Belgian side and reach the semi-finals, they would face playing every weekend and midweek between now and the penultimate day of the League season on May 20.
Just four points separate the bottom nine teams in what is, at this stage, the tightest relegation battle in Premier League history but West Ham are the only member of that group also juggling European commitments.
“It’s certainly a concern,” Moyes said. “But I tell you what: I wouldn’t half take the position I’m in, in a quarter-final of European competition. But I wouldn’t kid myself. Premier League football is the main thing.
“The truth is that it could have an effect on it because the Premier League is vital for us and we are going to have to try to plot our way through that and the European games.”
Moyes has tended to rotate his team in Europe so far this season, with the Irons having breezed out of the group with a perfect six wins from six and then made light work of little-known Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the last-16.
The Scot says he would like to field his strongest XI as the competition reaches its business end, but is cautious of overloading his players, having seen the effects first-hand during last year’s run-in.
The Hammers reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last term, earning showpiece wins over Sevilla and Lyon before losing to Eintracht Frankfurt, but their domestic form dipped markedly and the club eventually missed out on a top-six finish on the final day of the season.
“There is a worry because we have got ourselves into such a good position and been so strong in Europe,” Moyes continued. “We have been able to change the team in Europe and it has worked really well for us. [But] this time last year, when we had games against Seville and Frankfurt, we needed our best teams to win.
“I’m hoping we can pick up a couple of quick wins, which will mean we can go in to the European games stronger than what we have had in the past.
“But if not, the team we have played in Europe has done a brilliant job, whichever way we have juggled it about, as we have tended to do in the last couple of seasons.”
