Fans unhappy as struggling West Ham turn to Moyes

West Ham have appointed David Moyes as their new manager less than 24 hours after sacking Slaven Bilic.

The former Manchester United and Everton boss has signed a contract until the end of the season with a remit of keeping the struggling Hammers in the Premier League.

Moyes was unable to achieve that goal at Sunderland last season, having taken over from Sam Allardyce in July 2016, with the Black Cats going on to finish bottom of the table.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

His arrival has not been greeted with universal enthusiasm from West Ham fans but Moyes has urged everyone connected with the club to pull together to turn things around.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them getting right behind the team and my team also. We need the support, we need everybody with us. It’s a big job we have in hand now but I’m sure with everybody together we can get the right results between now and the end of the season.”

Joint chairman David Sullivan is convinced Moyes is "the right man to turn things around” at West Ham but there is no doubt this could be a make-or-break job for the 54-year-old Scot.

Moyes built a reputation as one of the best managers in the country during his 11-year spell in charge of Everton having previously impressed in his first role at Preston North End.

His success at Goodison Park despite working with limited resources saw him appointed as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor at Manchester United in May 2013 but he was sacked just ten months into a six-year deal at Old Trafford.

Moyes’ standing in the game was further harmed by disappointing spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland but the BBC believes he has the right qualities to instil some much-needed organisation into an under-performing West Ham squad.

“Moyes' arrival at West Ham has not been greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by the club's support, something owners David Sullivan and David Gold are aware of. However, it is the Scot's diligence on the training ground that is understood to be the major attraction in the decision.

“West Ham spent in excess of £40m in the summer to sign former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, Manchester City pair Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart, and Stoke's Marko Arnautovic, who cost a club a record £20m. But, as a collective, West Ham have badly underperformed.

“Sullivan and Gold feel they need someone to galvanise the current group of players rather than spending more money on completely revamping the squad.”

Due to the international break Moyes’ first game in the dugout will not be until West Ham travel to Watford November 19 and his swift appointment gives him plenty of time to implement his methods.

Leon Osman, who played under Moyes at Everton, told the Daily Mail that some players could be in for quite a culture shock.

“His training sessions were no place for faint hearts and the mention of the words 'horse shoe' still make me wince. You had to go on this long run in a horseshoe shape, and by the end your legs would give way.

“Some runs he asked us to do were totally unrealistic – and he knew it – but there was a method. He wanted to see who had the heart to fight until the end, as they are the qualities he expects from his team.”

Meanwhile, the Premier League managerial merry-go-round could be about to take another spin with The Sun reporting that Sam Allardyce is set to agree a £100,000 a week deal to replace the sacked Ronald Koeman at Everton.

“Toffees chiefs turned back to Big Sam after failing to land first choice, Watford chief Marco Silva. The emergency Allardyce deal would see the former England boss installed with ex-Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare as his No 2.”