West Ham United manager David Moyes lauded his team’s performance against Watford on Friday night as his side all but secured their spot in next season’s Premier League with a crucial three points.
Talking to West Ham TV, Moyes said that the three great goals in the first half did the job but he was a little disappointed with his side’s game management in the second half.
Michail Antonio opened the scoring and Tomas Soucek doubled the scoring within the first ten minutes as the Hammers got off to a blistering start.
Declan Rice added a third with an outstanding strike from 25 yards out later in the half.
“I thought we started the game brilliantly well,” the Scotsman said. “We got three great goals.
“I didn’t enjoy it as much in the second half because I wanted us to play better, but we did the work in the first half, and it was always going to be a really tight game.”
Moyes was impressed by the quality of the goals from his team who have performed well under pressure in the run-in having now scored 12 goals in the last five games which included impressive victories over Chelsea and Norwich before last night’s win over the Hornets.
“They were three great goals, they really were: Michy getting another goal, showing his ability to play up there and the threat that he’s become. I think the cross from Jarrod [Bowen] and the header by Tomas [Soucek] was a bit like the old days – a great ball in and it looked like that old-fashioned centre forward play, David Cross-type!
“Declan has got some ability to shoot – with great power, he’s a really clean striker of the ball. Tonight he got a goal, so he’s beginning to get a bit further up the pitch for us, and let’s hope he can get in there and show his ability near the opposition goal.”
Soucek and Bowen have made a big impact since arriving at the club in January and Moyes praised the duo in particular.
“I certainly think the new boys we got in January have made a big difference – they’ve added something to the group – and I think these players [in the future] will want to see what we can do next.”
The former Manchester United boss faces his old side at Old Trafford next Wednesday and his only focus is securing three points to remove any possibility of relagation.
The Hammers currently sit in 15th place, six points ahead of Bournemouth in the last relegation spot and have a considerably better goal difference with just two games left to play.
Moyes wants his side to reach the benchmark 40 points and also warned against excessive celebration at securing safety.
“The mindset is that I want to win them,” Moyes confirmed. “The old saying is that if you could get 40 points, you were always safe. We need three more points to make sure that happens.
“We’ve got a really tough game going to Old Trafford [to face Manchester United], but why not go and have a game and see if we can challenge them?
“There’s no celebration now, and even if there were, I’m not going to celebrate staying up. The position we’ve been in for long parts of the season might not have looked so good, but we’re very close to safety now.”