David Moyes has sent a clear message to the West Ham owners over his ambitions after the big Declan Rice interview.
When West Ham fans heard Rice was going to be interviewed for Gary Neville’s The Overlap, they feared it would only serve to add to the incessant stream of stories linking their star man with a move away.
That was always going to be the case when Rice stated he wanted to be winning all the top trophies.
But it could end up having a positive impact on West Ham too as it forces the club’s owners to show some much-needed ambition.
The arrival of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky as the club’s second biggest stakeholder in a £150m deal back in November has been seen as a major positive by West Ham fans.
But a hugely disappointing January transfer window has dampened the excitement surrounding Kretinsky’s arrival somewhat.
It would be harsh to judge him so soon, though, particularly after a January window where West Ham were one of nine clubs not to do any business.
But supporters do fear the lack of ambition shown last month – with so much to play for in the second half of the season – could see the likes of Rice seek pastures new.
Rice’s interview and comments were one of the first things Moyes was asked about in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Leicester game.
David Moyes sends clear message to West Ham owners over ambitions after Declan Rice interview
And Moyes sent a clear message to the West Ham owners over his ambitions in the wake of the Rice interview.
“Declan Rice is ambitious and we share his ambition as a club,” Moyes told reporters (whufc.com).
“He’s just said all the words I’ve probably said to him: we want to be in the Champions League, so to win the Champions League, the first thing you’ve got to do is qualify for it.
“We want to be challenging the teams at the top, which I’ve been saying for two years we want to challenge.
“We’ve got close with being in European football. We’re now getting ourselves in the position where we’re giving the top teams a game.
“What we’re trying to do is continue building on it. Declan’s a big part of it. He’s a really important player to us and we want to try and fulfil those ambitions, the same as Declan.”
Moyes does not make these kind of bold statements lightly.
Before now he has always played things down at West Ham to try and manage expectations.
But now he has put his cards on the table and effectively said to the owners ‘You don’t just need to match Rice’s ambition, but mine too’.
Moyes either feels confident he will be backed to show some proper ambition in the transfer market this summer or he is laying it on the line to his bosses so they are left in no doubt over what he expects.
We now have a situation where the fans, players and manager are all aligned in demanding ambition to push on.
And with West Ham guaranteed £500m in TV money between now and 2025 there are no excuses.
It is now on the owners David Sullivan, David Gold and Kretinsky to make that happen.