West Ham United manager David Moyes spoke to the media at length on Friday ahead of facing Fiorentina in the final of the Europa Conference League next Wednesday.
For the Hammers , it will be a chance to win their first major trophy since 1980 in what is their first major European final since 1976.
Ahead of that game, here is every word Moyes said on the final, preparations, Michail Antonio’s comments on Gianluca Scamacca and much, much more.
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Are you currently preparing for the biggest game of your career?
I've had a lot of big games, it's another big one and we're really looking forward to it
What do you make of Fiorentina’s manager Vincenzo Italiano saying he will resort to fouls to stop your attacks in the final?
I've got no real opinion on it. That would be down to the referees to sort that out and not for us to have a huge opinion on it. We will try to play a fair game and that is always, from my point of view, the best way to do it.
You have to chance to emulate Bill Shankly, Jock Stein and Billy Shankly by winning a major European trophy as a Scottish manager. How does it feel to be mentioned with those names?
It would be hugely important for myself personally because my home is Scotland, that’s where I was bought up. I think the names you mention were names which were around Europe in a different era where Scotland had a host of top managers competing in the best leagues and competing in competitions. I’ve been told about. I think Sir Alex was the last one to win, not just as a Scottish manager but also as a British manager as well. It would be a big thrill for me if I could get my name alongside theirs but many of them are greats in football, not just at their own clubs but throughout the world, their names are known wherever you go.
If you look back at your spell at the club, how different are things now to when you arrived in both spells?
I'm not sure that if you'd told anybody in the period we would finish sixth and seventh in the Premier League, we'd have got to a semi-final of a European competition, and then a year after, you would get to the final of a European competition. I think if you said that to people before we came in, you would’ve said no, that’s not true. I think there a lot of good things going on, I think we've given lots of the West Ham supporters and the club some really times and long may it continue. We want to continue it, we want to grow it. We want to keep it going and keep these moments happening and to me, in a cup final, it is special. Certainly for West Ham, it’s been a while since we’ve been here.
What did you make of the Europa League final and the abuse referee Anthony Taylor got? How much of a spotlight is there now on managers and how they treat referees?
I didn’t see the game, so I can’t really comment on the game itself or the officiating itself. I think all referees have a really difficult job and they should not be put through these situations which I heard this morning and that’s not correct.
What have you made of Michail Antonio’s comments which suggest he does not suit your style of play. Do you need to have a word with the two of them about it? Is it unhelpful ahead of this game?
I've got no issues with Gianluca. Gianluca is a terrific player, a really good footballer, someone who we really like but unfortunately, he’s been hit with injuries for periods of this season. Micky has his own opinions but we're not getting into that.
In 2008, you faced Fiorentina as Everton manager. What are your memories of those games?
Obviously we lose 2-0 in Fiorentina and we won 2-0 at Goodison and it goes to penalty kicks and I remember it to a level. I got a message yesterday from a friend who said I believe it was Mikel Arteta who missed the player of the match, but they told me Mikel was the player of the match and was the best player in the match. It was Phil Jagielka and Yakubu who missed the penalty kicks on the night. It was a great opportunity because I think Rangers beat Fiorentina in the semi-final. One of my good friends was Walter Smith, the manager of Rangers, who died not too recently and went on to play the final in Manchester City’s stadium. It would’ve been a great achievement if we got to the final. It was a good game against Fiorentina, both games were tight and unfortunately, that happens in football. Sometimes, it goes to penalty kicks and that’s the way it goes. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen that way and it goes our way this time.
Fiorentina play on Friday night, while you will go into the final off a ten-day break. Which side do you think that benefits more?
I don't think there's one reason to say that one is better than the other, but what I do think is that Fiorentina have such a big squad and they've been able to change their players. You see the teams have changed in many games and they are able to change, and they have done. It may be a help or it may be a hindrance, we're not sure to what the outcome will be. The result will help maybe give you an idea, but I think for all football clubs, whether it will be Italy or in England, the season has been really long due to the World Cup, due to lots of games being pushed in, it’s a been a long season for all of the teams.
Considering how tough this season has been, if you win the Europa Conference League, can you walk away with your head held high if there is a trophy and an open top bus parade?
No. The only focus I've got at the moment is to try and play the game, win the game, and perform as well as we possibly can. I’m certainly not thinking any further away than that. I've still got a few days until the game, so we’re just preparing the players, and getting things ready so my thoughts are no further than that.
What is your message to the fans, considering the potentially strained relationship this season, especially those unable to attend?
I think that I agree with lots of what you said, but in the main, the supporters have been unbelievable here, been very supportive of me and the team. We've had two very good years, sixth and seventh in the Premier League, a semi-final and now a final. You’d have to go a long way back in West Ham’s history to see where that was sort of last happening. I feel very sorry that we can't get more people in the stadium. I watched Fiorentina vs Inter Milan last week, Fiorentina had incredible support and I think we would have had incredible support. I hope in the future, the stadiums could be bigger to host, but I understand for different reasons we are in a slightly smaller stadium but I have to say it shows you how serious the teams in the Conference League are taking it. The support what we would have had and Fiorentina would have been much greater had we had a bigger stadium. I hope the supporters get a nice bar and a place where they can sit and watch and hopefully enjoy.
Do you think managers from Italy are moving away from their more traditional approach and going to be more attacking like Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton?
There are a lot of really good young managers out there. It is great to watch. I have been around a long time, been in the game for a long time, coming in and doing it in a short period is easier, but you have to come in and do it for a long time. Saying that, there are some very, very good young managers out there. Football has been around for a long time, it won't change too greatly, Italian football has its own DNA but also the Italy national team have just won the Euros. Italian football has been very positive. There are Italian teams in all the finals this year so it says a lot about their football. A lot of their teams are changing but they have good players and always have done.
How important is it to keep a lid on your emotions as a manager after Jose Mourinho’s behaviour in the Europa League?
We have hopefully learnt some lessons from last year. we found it difficult. We got a player sent off and probably we all lost our emotions, the way the game went. Ultimately football is about emotions. People want to see managers showing their commitment and energy to the team. Jose Mourinho is a serial winner and has proved to be that. hopefully, we are able to keep our emotions in check but overall getting to the final means we can perform well and show everything we can do.
Do you think you and your players will deserve a statue if you win the trophy and match the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters?
Hopefully, everyone will look back and see what was said has been delivered. I don’t know if we will ever get a statue as we are talking about three English legends as well as West Ham legends, but I do believe the players have got a great opportunity to be remembered by everyone at this club. There is a new generation of young supporters developing in the East End of London. The club have moved to a 65000 seater stadium which most weeks is full and shows the depth of feeling for West Ham in this part of London. If we can give those young supporters something to believe in, that they can reach a final, win finals, it would be nothing but positive. The players we have got will give us every chance of doing so. We have got a really good group, strong international players, players who are hungry to succeed. I hope we can show that on Wednesday.
What is your reaction to being linked with the Celtic job?
I have never even considered it. I am West Ham manager and I am really enjoying my period here. The club have been so good to me and we have enjoyed the journey we are on here, and hopefully trying to continue growing a really good football club. Through my years I have been linked with lots of jobs at different times in my career but I have to say I am really happy at the moment and settled where I am.
How was your warm weather training camp in Portugal?
One of the first questions I was asked was about having 10 days before we play the game. So I think it was important that we got away from the training ground for a few days, to a new environment. It gave us a chance to have a bit of time together. I am a big believer in having a great team spirit behind the scenes and we have certainly got that. We won’t be found wanting for that if it comes along. It was great. Some of the boys had a bit of time in the water, some had a game of golf. But overall we had a couple of days where we could change the scenery a little bit.
You have the best disciplinary record in the Premier League this year, how important is that going into such a big game?
You always want to be well disciplined in any game. I didn’t know that stat. It is obviously a good stat and we hope that is the way it remains. You also hope the referees are looking at that as well and seeing that we are a disciplined side going about the job correctly, and that they are doing their homework as well.
It has been a long time since your last major final. How do you go about preparing for this one compared to the last one?
You are right when you say it’s been a long time since a final. In football there are more managers who don’t get to finals than do, so you should appreciate and respect every one you get. Every one will be different. A British final could be different preparation to a European final. So this is the first time we have done a European final. It feels special, it feels like a really big occasion. It feels like it is something we want to make sure we have covered everything and hopefully go into the game in the best condition we possibly can be. I don’t think we have done anything different or anything more than we have done before, because this is near enough the first one we have done. But I do feel that our experience in the semi-final last year will give us a bit of an indication of what to expect. Overall the players are in a really good place. They are getting ready and mentally I see them in a good place and I hope that proves to be the case.
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