EPL

David Moyes undecided over West Ham future despite being offered new contract

By Sports Desk February 23, 2024

David Moyes has revealed West Ham have offered him a new contract, but he has yet to decide whether to stay at the club.

The Hammers manager’s current deal ends this summer and there was some doubt he would be offered a new one given their struggles since the turn of the year.

However, it seems Moyes is in charge of his own destiny in east London, and he could even opt to follow Jurgen Klopp’s lead at Liverpool and walk away at the end of the season.

Moyes, who is more than four years into his second spell at West Ham, said: “There’s a contract there for me.

“I’m the one deciding I want to wait until the end of the season, to make sure everything is correct, to concentrate on this season.

“I’ve really enjoyed my four years. I’ll see my contract out.

“There are plenty of reasons. I’ve got to make sure it’s the right thing for the club, for me and my family. I’ve spoken to the board. I’ve had a fabulous four years. We’ll sort it out but I’m happy to wait.”

Moyes guided West Ham to their first trophy in 43 years in last season’s Europa Conference League final, but some supporters have turned on him again after a run of eight matches without a win.

They have lost their last three in the Premier League, conceding 11 goals and scoring none, and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Bristol City.

However, much like last season, Europe is Moyes’ saving grace and the Hammers have got a favourable draw against Freiburg in the last 16 of the Europa League.

West Ham have already beaten the Bundesliga side twice this season after meeting them in the group stages, although their fans were banned from the away fixture due to the trouble at the Conference League final.

“We’re looking forward to going back and playing them again,” said Moyes.

“They were the toughest team in the group. We have to go back again and see if we can win for a second time.

“I don’t think that makes it any easier. The group was tight, the games were close. There’s no big difference.

“There are some big teams in this competition, the leaders in Germany, the leaders in this country. You’re trying to avoid them as much as you can.

“But it’s a tough game. They’ve just beaten Lens, who were in Arsenal’s Champions League group, giving you an idea they are a good team.

“The good thing about it is we knew we’d have European football after Christmas for the third year in a row, we’re really pleased.

“Once you get this far you want to see if we can get to the next round. We’ve had a few brilliant years in Europe.”

Related items

  • Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal

    Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.

    The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.

    They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.

    So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.

    However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.

    "I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.

    "I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.

    "After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.

    "Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."

    Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.

    After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.

    "The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.

    “There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”

    Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break. 

  • Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to complete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to complete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal

    Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.

    The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.

    They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.

    So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.

    However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.

    "I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.

    "I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.

    "After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.

    "Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."

    Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.

    After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.

    "The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.

    “There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”

    Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break. 

  • Ten Hag's future 'not my call', says Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe Ten Hag's future 'not my call', says Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe

    Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says he does not hold power over the future of boss Erik ten Hag, amid the Red Devils' woeful start to the season.

    United have taken just seven points from their first six Premier League matches, only beating Fulham and Southampton while suffering back-to-back 3-0 home defeats versus Liverpool and Tottenham.

    That is their joint-worst return through six games of any season in the competition, having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020-21.

    In the Europa League, meanwhile, United were pegged back in a 1-1 draw at home to Feyenoord on matchday one then squandered a 2-0 lead in Thursday's 3-3 draw at Porto.

    Those results have led to fierce criticism coming Ten Hag's way, but Ratcliffe says United's new football hierarchy will make any decisions regarding the Dutchman's future.

    Asked if he retained faith in Ten Hag, who signed a new contract in pre-season, Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: "I don't want to answer that question.

    "I like Erik. I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call.

    "It's the management team that's running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.

    "But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [sporting director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.

    "They've only been there… you can count it in weeks almost - they've not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.

    "Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it's not there yet, obviously – that's very clear."

    United go to Aston Villa for their next Premier League game on Sunday, having won 40 Premier League games against the Villans, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition's history (41 versus Everton).

    Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against United (eight draws, 16 losses), with that victory coming in Unai Emery's first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.