David Moyes hit out at international fixture scheduling as Michail Antonio was due to land back from Jamaica duty just over 24 hours before their FA Cup tie at Kidderminster on Saturday.
Antonio was expected to return at 11am this morning, having played an hour in his nation’s 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica in the early hours of Thursday morning, UK time.
The Hammers face National League North side Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup fourth round at 12.30pm tomorrow, meaning Antonio — Moyes’s only senior striker — is unlikely to feature. While West Ham should be able to cope without the 31-year-old, they also face Watford in the Premier League on Tuesday.
“Michail will arrive back today from Jamaica which, as you can imagine, is not particularly good,” said Moyes.
“It is a terrible situation. Players will be away and others will be at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning their clubs have not got them — but this was an international week.
“The scheduling of all the games is really tough for the people doing it. People are trying to squeeze games [in] and the people who get affected are the players, first and foremost. But if you’re a club paying their wages you would say it is hardly correct to get your player back at 11am on Friday to play the Saturday at 12.30pm.”
West Ham hoped to bring in support for Antonio in the January window but went through the month without any additions, and Moyes further insisted that he did not want to sign players just for cover.
“I didn’t just want back-up, I wanted real competition,” he said. “I wanted people who were going to take other people’s jerseys and challenge them.”
