Hammers boss David Moyes says one West Ham player has long way to go to be top class in his role ahead of the crunch clash with Fulham.
When you are in the kind of situation West Ham find themselves in, fans want to see that everyone has the same mindset and focus.
The whole team from board to players have to be ‘on message’ if West Ham are to have any hope of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.
But that does not appear to be the case of late at West Ham – or arguably all season judging by results.
Players like captain Declan Rice and Vladimir Coufal have been publicly questioning the tactics of David Moyes.
The Hammers were previously a seriously tight-knit group when it comes to keeping things in-house.
But key players appear to have been sending cryptic messages as the team has struggled this season.
After the 5-1 thumping against Newcastle, Moyes and his captain were on completely different pages regarding the ‘last two years’ at West Ham.
While Moyes continues to remind fans how spoilt they have been, Rice in his own post-match interviews was insisting the club needs to stop going on about it.
Moyes has thrown several players under the bus this season. It was one of a long list of grievances players reportedly have with the manager amid rumours of discontent behind the scenes.
David Moyes says one West Ham player has long way to go to be top class in his role ahead of the crunch clash with Fulham
So new comments from the boss ahead of the huge clash with Fulham may not go down too well.
Because Moyes says one West Ham player has long way to go to be top class in his role ahead of the crunch clash with Fulham.
“When you’re the leader, there’s no one right way to do everything,” Moyes said when asked if he gave the players a rollicking after Newcastle (Claret and Hugh).
“It’s whatever way you think is best to handle the situation.
“Yes (you hope players police themselves), but also over the years, we’ve had Mark Noble in the dressing room and he would’ve certainly policed them and organised them.
“We’re still in a little bit of a changeover period. We’ve got a great young captain but maybe still got a bit to go as far as all the other sides of the game as well.
“That’ll come with age and experience. But overall, they don’t need to be told too much.”
Whether by design in a bid to get a reaction or whether it be constructive criticism designed to help him improve – many will feel those kind of statements and comments should be made between the manager and skipper and not in a press conference.
Some will argue that Moyes should be bigging Rice up in public, even if he is telling him how he must improve in private.
Unity is key for West Ham in the fight for survival. The last thing we need or want to see is Moyes saying Rice still has a long way to go to be top class in the role – even if some might agree with the senitment.