David Moyes, manager of West Ham United, is adamant that he still has the backing of the club’s board despite suffering a 5-1 home defeat to Newcastle United. The result left the Hammers 15th in the Premier League table, only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference. This season has seen 13 Premier League managers lose their jobs, but Moyes is confident that he still has the support of the board. He commented that “they are behind me [the board], but if you lose badly like that as a manager you’re always in danger”.
The majority of West Ham fans had already left London Stadium before the full-time whistle and those who remained booed loudly. Moyes expressed his understanding of the fans’ displeasure, saying “I would have left as well, but the players were working as hard as they could, their effort was fantastic”. Poor defending in the first half saw Callum Wilson head in Newcastle’s opener unmarked from 12 yards and Joelinton break the offside trap to double the lead within 15 minutes. In the second half, individual errors cost West Ham further goals, with Nayef Aguerd and Lukasz Fabianski both responsible for goals before Joelinton added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time. Moyes commented that “I’m not sure the score is what it should have been, it was down to individual big mistakes”.
West Ham had never lost a game against a non ‘big six’ team at London Stadium by more than a three-goal margin, and the defeat leaves them level on 27 points with Everton, Nottingham Forest and 18th-placed Bournemouth. Despite this, captain Declan Rice has expressed his unwavering support for Moyes, saying “I love working with the manager, so do the players, how he is as a man, he is great with us”. He went on to say that “fans voice their opinions, they want to see results and performances. It is tough, you have to block out the noise, as captain I have to keep the boys on it”.
West Ham will now travel to Fulham for their next Premier League game on Saturday before the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final away to Gent. Despite the heavy defeat to Newcastle, Moyes is confident that he still has the backing of the board and that there is still plenty of spirit and belief among Hammers players that they can avoid relegation.