David Moyes: West Ham mentality is driven by Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal
Improved mentality is a key reason for the success at West Ham and it is thanks to Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal according to David Moyes.
The Czech duo are two of the more reliable performers at the London Stadium, since their arrival from Slavia Prague two seasons ago, and the manager credits them with an immense commitment to the team.
The club have been challenging near the top of the Premier League and succeeding in Europe during their time at the London Stadium, as they have forced the levels up in training, as has Declan Rice who has been “demanded” to bring back England standards from international duty.
The manager told Alan Shearer for The Athletic: “I think there’s a much better mentality around West Ham now.
“And I’ve got to say it’s been driven on by the two Czech boys (Soucek and Coufal), who have been sensational for that. Honestly, we had to lock the gates to keep them out the place at night.
“That meant that even the boys who think they’re good pros had to step up again. They were even leading the recovery sessions, jogging maybe half a dozen laps and taking a ball with them. That was their mentality.
“And we’ve demanded that Declan (Rice) takes the standard up, trying to get the standard of training up every day.
“If you’re training with Harry Maguire and Harry Kane and the top players (with England), you have to see those levels and bring it back to our place and show us all what standards they need to reach.”
Admirable
Rice gets all the attention because he’s the England star, but the influence of the pair of Czech internationals appears to be significant.
Not quite unsung heroes, but by the sounds of things they deserve to be highlighted more often.
The squad is arguably performing above their ceiling at the moment, something which is not usually possible for long.
But the best part of two seasons, with little in the way of reinforcements during that time, has been spent fighting in the upper echelons of the league, and now advancing through Europe.
The recent win over Sevilla was a showpiece, but Chelsea and Liverpool are just two of the supposed top sides domestically to have come unstuck at the London Stadium.
It is testament to the work Moyes has done since he returned to the club, but the players have pushed on themselves as well.
The professionalism of Soucek and Coufal cannot be underestimated as a cause, and fans will be delighted to see the influence bearing out.
In other West Ham news, the club are reportedly shopping a member of the first team.
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