Moyes to West Ham fans: ‘You make sure you play your part’ vs Southampton

West Ham United manager David Moyes urged his club’s supporters to back his team without any in-match distractions in the all-important relegation zone clash against Southampton on Saturday.

In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Moyes hopes there will be no repeat of the embarrassing scenes three weeks ago at the London Stadium, when many Hammers fans stormed the field in protest during the ugly 3-0 defeat to Burnley.

“The supporters will be right behind West Ham,” Moyes said. “I think they know the importance of the game. They know the importance of all the games. The bits been done now. Let’s make sure you help the team. The team will do everything to give you something to shout about and cheer about, so we’ll try and play our part. You make sure you play your part.”

“I think the club have taken all the right actions regarding no security, making all the changes in putting them in place and doing everything they can to get that part of it right. It’s not really not my department, I want to make sure that doesn’t happen by getting one or two goals up and then those situations don’t happen again. But in football, it’s always never that easy. But as far as what I have seen, I got to say the club have taken all the right actions.”

Moyes felt that the players wouldn’t be concerned over their safety on Saturday against Southampton at home, but also strongly rejected the notion that owners David Gold and David Sullivan shouldn’t attend.

“I’m safe, the players are safe,” Moyes said. “We’re really together now. The players really will look after each other, make sure that we’re all in it together. Stand together, and I’m sure the supporters will do that as well.”

“No, I don’t think so at all. They’re the people that put their money in. They deserve it, they come to the games. I don’t know all the politics of West Ham and maybe people will be able to tell me better than what I understand. But, I want us to play better.”

Moyes also criticized the club’s owners indirectly, however, after being asked about Karen Brady’s declaration to The Sun a fortnight ago that any manager will have more say in the transfer decisions of the club.

“I think it’s the right to do, isn’t it? And if that wasn’t the case, then it was wrong in the first place, because it should be the manager, or in some cases the sporting director. But I think that a football club, the manager has the decision.”

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