West Ham United players ‘shell-shocked’ as David Moyes speaks out amid sack speculation
West Ham players are “shell-shocked” at the moment about their poor form and they didn’t see it coming after finishing sixth in the previous season.
David Moyes made a pleading call to supporters [The Atheltic, 27 December] to keep believing in the team but the pressure is mounting on the Hammers boss with the club lying in 16th place and only one point above the relegation zone.
There have been suggestions that Moyes could be set for exit if the results do not improve, and it seems like the players have started the feel the heat as well.
“His players are apparently shellshocked about their poor form and did not see this coming after finishing sixth in 2021,” wrote Kieran Gill for the Daily Mail (30 December, page 65).
True
It is really hard to believe how badly the team is playing at the moment.
This has been a recurrent theme with David Moyes. It feels like he is the type of manager who is capable of making a mediocre team into a better one, but he is probably not the manager who can take the side to the elite level.
West Ham were teetering on the verge of relegation when he took over and within three years he took them to a top-six finish. He was given funds to bolster the squad, and it was expected that with top players around he will take them to a top-four finish.
But he has struggled badly to integrate new players, although a case can be made that he didn’t get most of them with injuries.
What has been really disappointing is that the Hammers are lacking intensity in their game. They have been very flat with their approach and the creative spark in the team is missing.