West Ham's relegation battle could harm European hopes, warns Moyes

West Ham’s relegation battle could harm their bid for Europa Conference League glory, warns David Moyes… as Hammers face a defining run of games in desperate bid to pull clear of Premier League drop zone

  • West Ham have navigated a way to the Europa Conference League quarter-finals
  • They are also battling relegation in the Premier League, which is their priority
  • David Moyes is well aware of the toll of playing Thursday-Sunday in big games 

Winning the Europa Conference League is the only way to save West Ham’s season and David Moyes fears the club’s fight for Premier League survival will get in their way.

Moyes wants his players to use their next two games – Newcastle at home on Wednesday and Fulham away on Saturday – to steer themselves clear of the relegation race.

West Ham could then focus on their trip to Gent in the quarter-final first leg Europe. 

‘It’s funny, I heard someone on the radio saying, “I would rather get relegated and win a trophy”,’ Moyes said on Tuesday. ‘

I thought, “Nobody really thinks that, do they?”

David Moyes is wary West Ham’s relegation battle could impact their European trophy hunt

West Ham picked up a crucial win against Southampton thanks to Nayef Aguerd’s (centre) goal

‘But we’re in a great position. Not regarding relegation, but regarding Europe. If we were to get close to winning a trophy it would be huge here.

‘If we didn’t get the points then we might have a difficulty going into the European games. Coming back on a Thursday, then we’ve got Arsenal, then Bournemouth.

‘If you look at those two games, one’s a top team, one’s down at the bottom, so when you’ve got a game on the Thursday night it really affects your preparation for those two games.’

Wednesday’s game could come down to a battle of the best friends in midfield. West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes are close, and Moyes said: ‘Guimaraes has been a big plus for Newcastle and Paqueta is on his way to doing that for us I hope.’

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