Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Sonia Twigg

David Moyes: West Ham reaching last eight again would be hell of an achievement

PA Wire

David Moyes believes it would be a “hell of an achievement” if West Ham could reach a European quarter-final for the second successive year as he prepares for the first leg of their Europa Conference League match at AEK Larnaca.

Last season the Hammers were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt, but while that campaign ran alongside a strong domestic performance, the Londoners have struggled in the Premier League this term.

Despite a 100 per cent record in the Europa Conference League group stages, on the domestic front West Ham have been battling relegation and travelled to Cyprus just one point above the drop zone.

However, Moyes believes winning a trophy remains a significant achievement, despite the competition being the lowest rung on the European ladder.

“To try to win any trophy as a football manager, or a player, very few get that big opportunity to do so,” Moyes said.

“Jose Mourinho showed you how much it mattered to him and he is a serial winner (Mourinho led Roma to Europa Conference League glory last year).

“It was really important to us last year – we wanted desperately to win the Europa League but we couldn’t quite get past the semi-finals.

“We’ve got a job to do to try to reach the quarter-finals at the moment.

“It would be a great achievement if West Ham could talk about being in the quarter-finals of two European competitions back-to-back. That would be seen as a hell of an achievement.”

West Ham crashed to a dismal 4-0 defeat at Brighton at the weekend, having seemingly turned a corner with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest and closely-fought defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup.

However, Aaron Cresswell insists the pressure of the Hammers’ league position is on the players as well as the manager, with the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday coming either side of the two legs against Larnaca.

“It’s not just the gaffer that’s under pressure, it’s the players as well,” Cresswell said.

“The XI that goes out and the boys on the bench, we’re all there to perform. It’s not just the gaffer who is under pressure, it’s the players.

“We know the situation we’re in. We’ve got to try to drag ourselves out of it.

“We’ve had a couple of days’ training, keep going, keep progressing, stay positive and stick together.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.