Under pressure: David Moyes faces a huge task to turn West Ham’s season around
(Picture: Getty Images)David Moyes has admitted he is under pressure after West Ham slipped to a fifth successive Premier League defeat and warned his side they must start picking up points quickly or face a relegation scrap in the New Year.
Goals from Ivan Toney and Josh DaSilva saw in-form Brentford climb to ninth with a 2-0 victory at the London Stadium on Friday night.
The result leaves the Hammers just a point clear of the relegation zone and Moyes’ men could drop into the bottom three - or even to the foot of the table - if results go against them this weekend.
Moyes has led a turnaround in the club’s fortunes since taking the job for a second time late in 2019, with back-to-back top-seven finishes and a run to the Europa League semi-finals last season.
However, the Irons’ form has dropped off a cliff this term despite a summer spending spree of around £170million.
Asked whether scrutiny over his position was unfair, given the results of recent seasons, Moyes said: “I don’t think it’s unfair because the business we’re in means that if you go five games when you’ve not won then you could always be under pressure, I totally get that.
“You feel bad when you lose one, when you lose two, never mind five. That is football.
“I understand that totally. I only want the best for West Ham because it’s been a great club for me, the club’s done well. We’ve taken it into a better place than it was before so I’m desperate and determined to keep it there. I don’t want it to go back down and get dragged back down.”
Hope that the winter World Cup break would provide West Ham with a chance to reset has so far proved fanciful and Moyes’ side now face a crucial run of fixtures against Leeds, Everton and Wolves, all teams currently in the bottom six.
“I’m hoping it’s not the case [that we’re in a relegation fight] but I’ve got to say I’ve lost a few games here at home recently so we have to be aware that we’re going to have to pick up points somewhere,” Moyes added. “It’s disappointing that we’ve not picked up any.
“I don’t think we’re low on confidence. We think there have been some good bits, even in that first-half against Arsenal [on Boxing Day], when we’re 1-0 up at half-time.
“Tonight we’ve lost a game when I think we’ve played well, the best we’ve played here in a while. I don’t think we’re low on confidence but I get the point that the confidence starts to drain if you don’t get goals or if every time the opposition go up the pitch they nick a goal.
“We’ve been playing average by my standard and we’ve got a few levels to go above it. But average in the main very often would get you average results - you might have picked up a couple [of wins], you might have lost a couple. But at the moment that average isn’t getting us results.”
