Moyes warns of old habit West Ham must avoid; reminds of deficiency despite win
David Moyes does not want West Ham to rest on their laurels despite continuing their fine run of form, while he also sent a reminder about one deficiency in his squad.
West Ham comfortably overcame Aston Villa in a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. Ben Johnson cut in from the right to give the Hammers the lead early on with a left-footed finish. Villa hit back through Ollie Watkins but Declan Rice restored the visitors’ lead with a strike from outside the box before the break.
Villa were reduced to 10 men early in the second half and West Ham eventually made the most of their man advantage. Two flowing moves in the final 10 minutes ended in goals for Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen.
West Ham are in the top four as a result, level on points with last season’s champions Manchester City.
Moyes is thrilled they were able to get such a result, but is keen for them to keep up this form rather than falling into old habits of inconsistency.
He told Sky Sports (as transcribed by the BBC): “It’s been a great week. But you know what happens in football. It can turn around and bite you.
“We have another game on Thursday. I don’t want West Ham to become that flaky inconsistent team a lot of people remember them as.
“Getting four goals [pleased me most], the resilience we showed at different times of game and save Lukasz [Fabianski made] at 2-1. It’s a good sign we can come here and be a little bit disappointed with the way we played and get a result.”
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Moyes reacts to red card; sends striker reminder
In a separate interview with Match of the Day, the Scottish tactician reiterated how he was pleased with the result more so than the performance.
He did not, though, share an opinion on the incident in which Ezri Konsa got sent off for the opposition, despite acknowledging its impact on the game.
Moyes added: “I’m thrilled with the result. The performance perhaps could have been better.
“I’ve not seen either incident [Konsa red card and a Fornals challenge that could have been a red but wasn’t]. The red card obviously had a big impact on the game.
“Overall I thought we had long periods of good control without making the most of it.”
One player who didn’t get on the scoresheet was Michail Antonio, who remains Moyes’ go-to man up front.
The coach was happy with his efforts and reminded that West Ham are still making do with a lack of depth in his territory.
“We haven’t got an out and out centre forward. Michail Antonio’s contribution is always big for us.
“I’m more interested in performances. We did enough today but I think the performance can be better. What the players have done so far has been fantastic. We have to keep it going.”
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