REBORN HAMMERS ARE HITTING NEW HEIGHTS
SOUCEK HELPS SINK PALACE AND KEEPS CLUB IN HUNT FOR EUROPE
FEW took West Ham owner David Gold seriously when he said in 2016 they could be playing in the Champions League within five years after their move to the London Stadium.
There were plenty of sniggers, too, when captain Mark Noble claimed the Hammers could break into the top-four following a strong start to last season under Manuel Pellegrini.
But after years of failing to deliver on grand ambitions and falling well short of breaking into the elite, West Ham are doing their talking on the pitch. Last night’s win against Crystal Palace moved them into fourth place, above Liverpool, who they host next at the London Stadium on Sunday.
David Moyes has put a lid on the noise coming out of the club about what they could achieve, vowing to promise less and deliver more. Now, after they continued their perfect start to 2021 with their sixth straight win last night, it is those outside the club who are touting West Ham for Europe.
Moyes will not state it publicly — and he’s right not to. On too many occasions the Hammers have been burned by their premature promises of qualifying for Europe.
This is a new West Ham, however. The scoreline last night suggested the game was close, but the Hammers were excellent to a man, could have won by a much greater margin and there is real excitement about the progress they are making under Moyes.
Their stay in the top four may be brief — Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton could all climb above them in the remainder of the midweek fixtures — but their position in the table is reward for the work Moyes has done over the past 12 months.
“Say that again,” the Scot said with a grin when reminded they were fourth last night. It is a moment to be enjoyed, but Moyes will not stop here.
Securing a top-four spot is still likely to be out of their reach, but a return to the Europa League for the first time since 2016 (when they crashed out in the qualifying stages) is realistic.
Moyes has privately told his players what their target is this season and is hammering home the message that their good start to the season must not go to waste.
“We are not scratching the surface yet,” said Moyes. “We have got so much more we can give and do.
“Part of a manager’s job is to raise expectations, but I will not try and be stupid, because West Ham have done it too often and maybe got it wrong.
“It is very rare you can get to this position from where we have been and stay there. We have to do it in stages.
“I don’t want to say something which I can’t deliver. The players are doing a good job and long may it continue.”