If ever West Ham and David Moyes needed the fans right behind them from the off then it is in the big clash with Freiburg this week.
It’s all too easy to point fingers at West Ham fans when the team struggles.
Yes Hammers supporters can be demanding. But what they ask for is not anything extraordinary.
West Ham fans want to see their team go at the opposition, be aggressive and in old school parlance ‘give it a right go’.
We saw both sides of the West Ham coin under David Moyes in the draw with Burnley.
The negative, risk averse approach which so irks fans saw the team 2-0 down and jeered off at half-time.
Summoning the spirit of Sevilla
And the front-footed – at times almost gung-ho – attacking intent which could and should have seen the Hammers come from behind to win had supporters right behind the side in the second half.
Come from behind to win is exactly what West Ham must do to overturn a 1-0 deficit when Freiburg come to the London Stadium in the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie on Thursday.
Supporters and players have been talking about summoning the ‘spirit of Sevilla’.
The Hammers overturned a 1-0 first leg defeat to beat Sevilla and make the quarter-finals of the same competition two years ago.
Moyes and West Ham fans both have valid arguments
That was undoubtedly one of West Ham’s best results and atmospheres at their divisive Stratford home.
It’s fair to say the relationship between some of West Ham’s fans and the manager has become prickly over the last year or so.
Moyes has repeatedly suggested those jeering the team have short memories. And the Scot also states he feels true supporters are the ones who get behind their side when things aren’t going so well.
Some disgruntled West Ham fans argue the onus is on the manager and team to give them something to shout about by starting games with intent.
Both sides make valid points.
But for this hugely important game with Freiburg – and what is at stake – all of that goes out of the window.
Now Moyes has sent a very clear message to West Ham fans about what he expects from them for Freiburg.
That being raucous unconditional backing from the off regardless. And whatever your stance on Moyes, the performances and his approach – he’s right.
Hammers boss issues rallying cry for Freiburg
“We’ll do everything we can to get through,” Moyes told the club’s official site.
“We just need to do as well as we’ve done the last two years in Europe. We’ve only been in this situation ONCE against Sevilla in the knockout stages.
“So I think everybody knows what they have to do. We certainly know what we have to do. And hopefully the crowd know the part they have to play in it as well.”
Moyes also appealed to West Ham’s fans to get right behind the team in his interview with BBC Sport.
“Players have their own pride and they showed it in the second half (vs Burnley),” the West Ham boss added.
“They showed they cared and valued the support that comes here. I thought they’d done it in the second half.
“We had to find a big dose of enthusiasm right from the start. But we need that in the stadium as well. We need everybody to get behind us. They got behind us in the second half, it made a good difference.”
Yes the game is going to be a nightmare to get to. Yes we all hate the 5.45pm kick-off time. And yes we want to see the team take it to Freiburg.
But let’s do our bit to roar the team into the European quarter-finals for a third consecutive year.
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