David Moyes column: West Ham players must show we are not just here to be rolled over

Hard going: Aaron Cresswell and Mark Noble suffer after the Watford loss
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David Moyes1 December 2017

First of all, I want to say that I believe we’re strong enough to get away from the wrong end of the Premier League table. We have a lot to do to sufficiently improve but I have seen some signs in the games so far that give us a chance of doing that.

We have to be much harder to play against, that’s our chief concern. At the moment it seems to me it’s a bit too easy for the opposition.

We’ll be working hard on that in training because a clean sheet means you are still in the game.

I thought we had made progress on that against Leicester but in the first half against Everton the other night, we were far too passive.

At the moment, because we’re conceding the first goal in matches, we’re not giving ourselves a good enough chance. Going behind means we’re chasing games and while you can expect to do that once or twice, it’s nigh on impossible to do it in every match.

If you look at Premier League statistics, they will support the view that you make life very difficult for yourselves if you are constantly going behind.

I have learned — and will continue to learn — about this squad as we play the games. Yes, the next three matches, away at Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday followed by Chelsea and Arsenal at home, will be challenging, but what realistically should we expect?

In our position not many would have us getting much from those fixtures but I don’t agree, we have nothing to lose — there are nine points up for grabs. If I am being realistic, I would say what we should be looking for is an improvement in our performance to gain any points, whether it’s against one of the top teams or a club near the bottom.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are next up
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I cannot stress too strongly that, in these next three games and beyond, we have to show we are competitive, that we are not there just to be rolled over. We have to demonstrate to the opposition that we are able to compete with them in effort and determination.

I’ve never gone into any game, either as a player or manager, thinking we had no chance of winning. I’ve never, as a manager, gone into any game with the team not prepared to compete for the points. Sometimes we’ve had to prepare not to lose but I’ve always gone into a game believing something will happen, that we’ll make opportunities to turn things our way.

Now, as we prepare to go to Manchester City this weekend, we have to have that attitude. I need to see performances which convince me we can go forward because, after we play these three games, we’re on the cusp of a hectic Christmas period when the games come thick and fast.

If we can raise our performance I am sure the results will come, but just at the moment, although there are periods when we play well enough, just as in the second half against Leicester and a spell after half-time at Everton, it’s the periods when we’re not playing well enough that we don’t look as though we can hold the opposition when they have a decent spell.

We must approach these next three games with a competitive attitude — we will try to come away with something when no one expects us to do so.

We will need to be flexible and perhaps change systems sometimes, even more so right now, when we have to try to stop conceding so many goals.

We don’t want to chop and change too much because we need stability. If we can settle down and be more stable we can then choose what more we need to do in terms of changing things.

Unfortunately our options are really limited in terms of central defenders plus we’re also short of full-back cover. We have more flexibility in attacking areas, but with Jose Fonte recovering from his operation and James Collins and Winston Reid, who came off at Everton, both struggling, we’re very limited at the heart of our defence. We have young Declan Rice, who came on for Winston at Goodison Park. Our next three games will be demanding enough for experienced players, let alone young ones who are just finding their feet in senior football, but sometimes young players have less to lose because there is less expectation.

As a youngster, you do get a little bit of grace but soon enough you are judged, along with the rest of the team, as a player. You are out there on merit and you’re in the team to perform.

If I look back on my first three games at West Ham, we’ve had opportunities to score in all of them and in particular the two we’ve lost at Watford and now Everton. OK, that can happen once but there seems to be something of a trend there. It’s those margins which make all the difference, and in both we had big chances to get back in it.

Arnautovic had a great chance to score in the defeat to Watford
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I know the players’ confidence is low at the moment and I am mindful that I and my staff are still relatively new to them. I realise also that I am on a short leash, though, and I have to try and get a reaction quickly.

I’ve told the players that I haven’t the time to fully get to know them and understand their individual game.

I can only say what I see from the games and what they’re doing and what they’re not doing.

I was critical privately in the dressing room on Wednesday night because we’re not going to win enough games if we continue to perform at that level. I have to be straight with them.

With respect to the team to face City, Michail Antonio came on in the second half and will be better for that. On Sunday we would hope he could play longer, maybe from the start.

In Pictures | Everton vs West Ham | 29/11/2017

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I want players, when they come back in, to be fit enough to make a difference. On Andy Carroll, he jarred his knee in training on Tuesday but he’s had a scan and he shouldn’t be out too long.

Finally, I saw Sam Allardyce for 10 minutes in the office after the game on Wednesday. I told him he was going to a good club and I think it suits Sam.

The Everton job was one of only a few which would have tempted him back. He can live at home in the North-East and I am sure that also played a part in his decision.

The fee for this column is donated to the National AIDS Trust to mark World AIDS Day today — www.nat.org.uk

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