David Moyes’ West Ham United suffered a 5-1 defeat at home on Wednesday night against Newcastle. Moyes dubbed the game as ’embarrassing’, admitting his job is on the line.
The majority of the West Ham fans left before the full-time whistle and those who remained booed loudly. Moyes told Match of the Day he understood why the supporters were not pleased, stating that he would have left as well, but “the players are working as hard as they could” and that when it gets bad fans need to stand up and be ‘true supporters’.
The loss leaves the Hammers 15th on the Premier League table, one of the four teams on 27 points including 18th place Bournemouth. Speaking with reporters at the post-match press conference, Moyes acknowledged that he finds himself under pressure, he said: “If you’re a manager and you lose badly like I did tonight then you’re always in jeopardy. I understand that.”
There is no guarantee but it is possible that if West Ham loses the game at Craven Cottage against Fulham on Friday Moyes may lose his job, which will make him the 14th manager this season. However, Moyes believes that he has the backing of the board. He said: “They are behind me, but if you lose badly like that as a manager you’re always in danger.”
Despite the criticism, Moyes is not ready to walk away from football. He said: “It’s like a drug – I need it. Part of being a football manager is that you don’t win all the time.
“Sometimes you have to lose and you have to try and learn to deal with it. But when you do lose, you’ve got to learn how to bounce back.”
This season the Hammers have suffered 15 league defeats, drawn six and won seven, with only nine games left of the season to keep them out of the relegation zone. Whilst it hasn’t been West Ham’s season Moyes also has the backing of team captain Declan Rice.
Speaking with Sky Sports, he said: “I love working with the manager, so do the players, how he is as a man, he’s great with us.
“Fan voice their opinions, they want to see results and performance. It is tough, you have to block out the noise, as captain I have to keep the boys on it.”