Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor insist West Ham need to buy with Michail Antonio strung out
West Ham should have strengthened in January and Michail Antonio desperately needs support, say Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor.
The Hammers were knocked out of the FA Cup to a much-changed Southampton side last night, and both the pundits believe the squad are suffering from a lack of new faces being brought into during the window.
Speaking on talkSPORT this morning (Thursday 3 March, 07.20am) McCoist said: “Now is the time that Moyes and indeed the rest of the players need a hand, and by that I mean get some reinforcements in.
“Antonio, as good as he is, he’s having a terrific season and he’s a terrific player, but I’ve got to say having had a look at him he’s maybe just a little bit jaded, which is understandable because he needs a hand.”
Agbonlahor went further, in a clip posted to the station’s Twitter account, saying: “This season everyone was excited about West Ham, even the neutrals… but teams invest at the right time.
“In January it was the right time to go and get another centre-midfielder, maybe a centre-half, and definitely a striker.
“You can’t just rely on Antonio, you need a plan B. It’s just frustrating really.”
Ship has sailed
The club had an opportunity this season and it is becoming more and more clear that they let it slip through their fingers.
Moyes had done great work to get his side into the Champions League places at the turn of the year.
Fans are always clamouring for signings in January because it is an exciting time, but it was necessity, not luxury, that had them calling for new players to be brought in.
It was always going to be a battle to hold off the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham over the remainder of the season, and the players had already put so much in up to that point.
It would have been sensible to support key areas of the squad as an investment to keep the Irons operating at the top table.
But that is so much more important when there is only one player in a vital role, with Jamaican international Antonio expected to shoulder constant responsibility at the sole striker.
The manager bears responsibility for not having appropriate targets identified ready for January, as the big-money bids that were made had little chance of success.
The club appeared too satisfied with simply being in the Champions League conversation rather than being committed to fighting for it in reality.
In other West Ham news, Andrey Yarmolenko has received an angry response from one Russian player over the invasion of Ukraine.
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