‘I hope nobody’s kidded’ were the words of Hammers boss David Moyes as he fires a clear wake-up call to West Ham about what’s to come.
West Ham unofficially secured Premier League survival with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday night.
And that means full focus and attention can be given to the huge European semi-final with AZ Alkmaar over the next two weeks.
The Hammers welcome the Dutch side to the London Stadium for the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg on Thursday night.
West Ham then travel to Holland for the second leg a week later.
‘I hope nobody’s kidded’ David Moyes fires clear wake-up call to West Ham about what’s to come ahead of AZ Alkmaar test
It is a second consecutive European semi-final for West Ham. And the manager is hoping he and his players have learned lessons from the defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in last season’s Europa League.
Many believe West Ham will be far too strong for AZ Alkmaar. And they go into the game as big favourites.
Especially against the backdrop of their much improved Premier League form.
‘I hope nobody’s kidded’ says David Moyes has he fires a clear wake-up call to West Ham about what’s to come ahead of the AZ Alkmaar test.
“Look we needed a top performance to get us (the win against Man United) and I thought tonight we were getting much closer to it,” Moyes said in an interview with West Ham’s media team.
‘You don’t play bad teams at that level’ warns Moyes
“Better with the ball, harder working, more compact when we needed to be.
“Because you know I hope nobody’s kidded we’ll be playing a really good team in AZ (Alkmaar). You don’t get to semi-finals (if you’re not a good side). You don’t play bad teams at that level.
“So we’ve got to be ready and everybody ready to help us get to a final.”
Moyes is right to guard against complacency.
Alkmaar are a young, vibrant, energetic team full of pace.
And as underdogs they have nothing to lose against West Ham.
It promises to be a thrilling couple of games. Roll on Thursday.
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