David Moyes says reaching a European final with West Ham would be his finest achievement in almost 1,100 games as a manager.
And he is threatening to channel his inner “disco fever” in an unlikely samba double act with Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta if the Hammers strike gold in Prague next month.
It could be murder on the dancefloor – but Moyes, who turned 60 a fortnight ago, is only two steps from heaven.
After a grim season on the home front, with relegation floodwaters lapping at their door, the Hammers face Dutch dark horses AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday night with history beckoning Moyes like an oasis in the desert.
Just 33 days after he dodged the axe with a critical win at Fulham, as fans unfurled a “Moyes Out” banner at the Putney end, bookies now rate West Ham favourites to land their first major trophy in 43 years.
In a previous incarnation, the Irons boss led Everton to a top-four finish in 2005 and the FA Cup final four years later, but he would rank a silver lining in Europe as his finest hour, saying: “To get to a European final, it could be my best one (achievement).
“I've reached a Champions League quarter-final with Manchester United, lost on penalties in the quarter-final of the Europa League with Everton, and last year we reached a semi-final here at West Ham.
“I want to try and take it a couple of steps further, and I would refer back to the serial winner Jose Mourinho, who found winning this trophy so special for him and his football club (Roma).
“Sir Alex Ferguson always used to say this was the time of year where you had to be at your best because it tends to be that games are really important semi-finals, finals or league games you have to win.
“Having your best form at this time of the season is always important and I do believe that we’re playing some of our best stuff just now.”
Moyes has repaid the board for standing by him when twitchier trigger-fingers would have reached for the holster.
There are no guarantees of a cockney knees-up in Europe's stag weekend capital on June 7, but Sunday's 1-0 win against Manchester United has left them all but safe in the Premier League, and he said: “Over the previous two seasons we've had successful years at West Ham, finishing sixth and seventh.
“Obviously this year's been disappointing and we would have liked to do better, but not in Europe – we've been excellent in this competition.
“I would say the board have been clever and I hope they realise that they did come to the right decision to stand by their manager.”
Yes, David. So, what about the dancing if the former United boss delivers a happy ending to a 57-game season in Prague?
Moyes laughed: “It will be the dad-dancing that will come out, don’t worry about that. I don’t know if I promised him that, but I don’t want to dance with those Brazilians – have you seen their moves?
“Let’s hope there is an opportunity to try and do that - a bit of disco fever. I think I have that in the bag.”
The mind boggles. Alkmaar head coach Pascal Jansen was born in London and his mother was a former pop singer, one half of the duo Spooky and Sue who had a No.1 hit in Belgium with Swinging On A Star in 1974.
Moyes is thought to prefer claret and blue to Spooky and Sue's cheesy Europop.
