Michail Antonio lifts lid on falling out with West Ham boss David Moyes
Michail Antonio has lifted the lid on a falling out with West Ham manager David Moyes during his first spell at the club.
The Jamaica international insisted the disagreement is now water under the bridge with the pair moving on from the incident “quite quickly”.
Antonio claimed it wasn’t an uncommon thing with many of those in the “scary” Irons dressing room does not shy of speaking their mind.
“When he came the first time, there was a bit of a fall-out between me and him,” Antonio told Standard Sport. “We moved on from that quite quickly and finished the season quite well.
“One thing with the gaffer is that even if you’ve had a falling-out, he will easily forget. You can go in and have a full-on row with each other, but from that row, we both respect each other as player and manager.
“There are definitely some voices being raised and digging people out.
“Scary? Yeah. It is needed. People need to be lifted and know if they’re not doing well. That is one thing we get from him and from player to player.
“Everyone demands the best from each other; the coaching staff and players, we all demand it and we will keep pushing each other.”
Old fashioned
West Ham supporters wouldn’t have it any other way. The old school Hammers would be proud, that is the sign of a real club.
The players and manager need to be able to call each other and respond well to it, that is the nature of football.
Holding each other accountable is absolutely vital when looking to improve, something the Hammers are.
There would be huge problems if the players could not take criticism on board and Antonio’s comments just prove that this squad is full of a great set of lads.
It seems bizarre that the striker dubbed the dressing room scary but that must be what has kept everyone on their toes throughout the last couple of seasons.
Hopefully, that continues with a hugely important last several months of the season remaining.
The Irons still have the chance to reach their target of Champions League football via the Europa League and they have to be at their very best to grasp it.
In other West Ham news, Declan Rice has shared a key tactical switch that helped the Irons beat Sevilla.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Hammers plus more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.