David Moyes has no qualms about his West Ham side being known as a ‘good cup side’ as they continue to compete for four trophies this season.
The Premier League is a distant dream as they lie mid-table after a quarter of the fixtures, but they are through to a League Cup last eight tie against Liverpool, after knocking out Arsenal, and, at the time of writing, are likely to reach the knock-out phase of the Europa League.
They qualified for European football for the third successive season by virtue of winning last season’s Europa Conference League, a rare triumph that greatly contrasted their domestic form.
The Hammers manager conceded: “To try and win the league or have success in the league is really difficult so I think the cups play a big part in trying to keep the supporters happy.
“I needed the cup games last season because my league form wasn’t good enough… so the cup games kept us going and by the end we probably had the best season in our history for a long, long time.”
West Ham’s next opponents, following their return European tie against Olympiacos, are Nottingham Forest, who go to the London stadium on the back of a big win against Midlands rivals Aston Villa.
Moyes added: “We want to do well in the league. I definitely believe that we are a much better team than we’ve shown”.
West Ham knocked Arsenal out of the EFL Cup in the round of 16 at the start of November, reaffirming their status as a cup side. They face another tough opposition in the quarter final, however, facing Liverpool at Anfield.
Moyes believes that his team are continuing to grow. He explained: “confessed that “”We’re all trying to make progress and play better… and sometimes as you try things it can sometimes not work out.
Alluding to the heavy squad rotation Moyes has been implementing he concluded: “We don’t just play 11 players anymore… we have to keep players fit”.
