MY ACCOUNT
West Ham’s strong performances in the Europa Conference League have not been mirrored in the Premier League and the Hammers face the threat of relegation for the first time since 2011.
David Moyes has been trusted to deliver on both fronts with a talented squad who have been unable to maintain consistency this term.
Ahead of their quarter-final first-leg clash at Gent this evening, we take a closer look at the problems facing the Scotsman in the final weeks of the season.
Domestic woe
West Ham’s unreliable form is a concerning issue with the Irons not recording consecutive league wins since August.
Every time it looks like the East Londoners are on the brink of collapse however, they pull out a crucial victory — most recently at Fulham last Saturday.
Their league form has improved since their seven-match winless run ended in January, but Moyes is still struggling to implement a system similar to the one that supported their run to the Europa League semi-finals and seventh-placed finish last season.
And with Arsenal visiting the London Stadium on Sunday, it appears likely that the Hammers may endure another crushing defeat.
Merse backs Moyes
Many claret and blue fans have been calling for Moyes’ sacking in recent weeks, but Paul Merson believes there is no one better suited to guiding the Irons to safety.
The ex-Arsenal midfielder said: “West Ham right now, they’re kind of a team that are lacking confidence and you don’t know what team is going to show up on a Saturday or even a Wednesday.
“If I had to pick someone from a distance to save my club from getting relegated, I’m picking David Moyes over every single manager.”
Moyes’ longevity and understanding of the club puts him in the best position to spark a reaction from a visibly deflated squad and a replacement may struggle to have the desired impact this late in the season.
Blunt Irons
One of West Ham’s biggest issues this season has been their ability to convert in the final third.
The Hammers have only netted 27 times in the top flight in the current campaign, ranking them 16th overall.
Their shortage of goals is not for a lack of trying — only nine teams have recorded more than the East Londoners’ 365 shots this year.
Jarrod Bowen sits at the top of the scoring charts for West Ham with 10 but only four of those have come in the top flight.
Moyes’ men are creating 8.93 chances per 90 minutes, suggesting that it is the personnel on the pitch who are lacking in quality, rather than the manager in the dugout.
Tough love
Last season’s Europa League exit to Eintracht Frankfurt resulted in both Aaron Cresswell and Moyes being sent off and Declan Rice receiving a ban for his post-match comments.
But the veteran coach has called for a calmer approach this year, saying: “We’ve got to make sure we are better disciplined.
“But we still want the players to be emotional, we want them to understand what it means, we want them to be motivated and eager to impress.
“We don’t want vanilla players who are going to go around and not tackle, challenge, run hard, be competitive. We have to learn where we can draw the line.”
West Ham fans have not seen their side lift silverware since the Championship play-off final in 2012, but success in the Europa Conference League may not be enough to mask the damning reality of relegation from the Premier League.
