David Moyes says he will have to live or die by his transfer decisions but claims the owners are backing him to sign really good players for West Ham.
It was West Ham’s squad sheet for the season opener against Man City, as much as the performance and result, that exposed just how much work needs to be done at the London Stadium in what remains of the summer transfer window.
Moyes had one centre-back, three goalkeepers and a smattering of young players who may or may not make the grade at Premier League level let alone with West Ham.
West Ham need to sign several quality players and time is running out with just three weeks left of the three-month summer window.
Under Moyes West Ham have had a much more considered, careful and strategic transfer and recruitment philosophy.
As West Ham fans know only too well, the Scot likes to do his due diligence on signings both as players and characters.
But while supporters have been impressed with the five signings the club has made, there is growing frustration at the failure to land long-linked targets and get deals done in time to really attack the season.
As is always the case at West Ham – and justifiably so – when questions start to be asked by Hammers supporters they are very much aimed at the owners David Sullivan, David Gold and now Daniel Kretinsky too.
The frustration has been brewing amongst fans since January when the world and its wife could see Moyes needed two or three signings to seize a golden opportunity that was in front of West Ham, both in the Premier League and the Europa League.
West Ham fell agonisingly short on both fronts as a direct consequence of their shallow squad. And for fans it was yet another stick with which to beat their ‘unambitious’ owners.
Despite their desperately thin squad West Ham have this week elected to sell Issa Diop and – like Arthur Masuaku last week – let Nikola Vlasic leave on loan with an option to make it permanent.
There is also talk Said Benrahma could be next out of the door.
That would leave West Ham needing at least four or five quality signings before the window shuts on September 1st.
And it has fans worried and somewhat perplexed in equal measure.
Are Moyes and the club allowing players to leave because they are confident new arrivals are on the way?
Or is this a necessary exercise after Maxwel Cornet took spending to around £107m?
Now in the second part of a lengthy interview with Graham Hunter, the Hammers boss has opened up on his transfer plans, defending the board and explaining the difficulties and thought processes he faces.
‘I’ll have to live or die by transfer decisions but the owners are backing me to sign really good players for West Ham’ was the message from Moyes.
David Moyes: I’ll have to live or die by transfer decisions but owners are backing me to sign really good players for West Ham
“Look I think as managers we all live or die by our recruitment,” Moyes told Graham Hunter.
“You’ll probably lose your job if you don’t recruit particularly well, not always, but it’s got a big part to play in it. So I think getting good recruitment is really vital.
“We started well with the Czech boys, we’re now moving on. We bought players when we came in to finish outside the bottom three in the Premier League…
“But we had an unbelievable year two years ago where we went from fourth bottom of the league to pushing fifth and sixth in the Premier League and we’ve sort of continued that.
“So the level of player (we’re looking for now), we’re looking to buy players who can get us in the top six, or keep us in the top six. So that in itself is a different challenge.
“But I have to say the club have been really good as far as they’re putting the finances up, they’re giving me every opportunity to try and do that. But we’re still building and while you’re doing that if you try and say ‘we’re going to buy the top boys’ then – this is my experience telling me ‘it’s not the way to go’.
“You put a layer on another layer, a layer on the other layer. If you have billionaires running your club you can say we can spend as much as we like. We don’t have that so you’ve got to try and do it in a wee bit of a calculated way.
“I didn’t buy anybody in January, it wasn’t because the club didn’t want to buy anybody it was because I couldn’t find the ones I wanted and we bid really big for top players. So I sort of get a bit annoyed when people quite often blame the board (saying) they didn’t buy and that. Let me tell you you they did, they tried to buy really good players.
“And what I’m trying to do now is buy really good players to help us become a top six team.
“I’m saying ‘we don’t want to sign a cheap player just to fill a space, I’d rather go without than do that because I’m trying to save your money for what I hope might come’.
“We’re in the transfer window and I’m hoping we can do that. But look I’ll have to live and die by my decisions and how I do that but we’re buying for the top six and to be better.”
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