West Ham: David Moyes sends new warning despite 2-1 win v Wolves
West Ham manager David Moyes has issued a warning to his players after their 2-1 comeback win over Wolves, insisting he will not hesitate to drop underperforming stars.
The Hammers produced a poor first-half display at Molineux, going in 1-0 down at the break after Pablo Sarabia had scored from the spot.
Moyes made a double-change at half-time, bringing Ben Johnson and Michail Antonio on for Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek – the Scot was forced into third substitution shortly after the restart, replacing the injured Jarrod Bowen with Aaron Cresswell.
Those changes helped the Hammers turn the tide as they came from behind to win 2-1, with Lucas Paqueta scoring a penalty of his own and James Ward-Prowse scoring direct from a corner.
Moyes was pleased with the impact of his substitutes but warned that those who started and did not come off were not all exempt from criticism, saying to West Ham’s official website: “I’ve got to praise the players but more importantly I’ve praised the three boys who’ve come on as sub today.
“Ben, Micky, Cressy I thought were all fantastic today and they had a big improvement on the team from how we started.
“And if the players in the team think they’re there and that’s them then well – they’re not. If they don’t play well then they’ll not be playing.
“They need to play well and they need to have their standards high and certainly in the second half things got a bit better.”
Mixed showing from West Ham at Molineux
Moyes’ dissatisfaction with the overall performance at Molineux is justifiable, despite the morale-boosting nature of the come-from-behind victory.
The Hammers were decidedly poor in the first half, allowing Wolves to dominate and dictate the game and offering nervy defending and next to no attacking threat in response.
However, they improved dramatically after the break and look a much stronger side with Antonio leading the line and Paqueta in a central role.
Johnson, meanwhile, produced a far more encouraging display than the man he replaced – Coufal – whose recent performances have been shaky.
Emerson was much more effective out of position at left wing than he was at left-back, with Cresswell offering a significantly steadier presence at the back than his Brazilian counterpart.
Moyes’ comments indicate that he is keen to provoke a response from his players – and is not afraid to bruise egos if performances start to slip.
In other West Ham news, Don Hutchison has slammed the decision to rule out Emerson’s goal against Wolves.
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