LONDON:
David Moyes accused his West Ham flops of failing to take “responsibility” as the pressure mounted on the under-fire boss following Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing at Chelsea.
Moyes could be set to leave West Ham at the end of the season after reports that the club have held talks with former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui.
The 61-year-old Scot is out of contract once the current campaign concludes and has been criticised throughout the season by fans unhappy with his perceived negative tactics.
Moyes, whose team conceded five goals for a second successive away league game following their loss at Crystal Palace, is set to hold talks with the board over his future at the end of the season.
But the former Manchester United manager’s hopes of extending his second spell at the London Stadium were not helped by their capitulation at Chelsea, which effectively ended their slim hopes of qualifying for Europe.
“Not good. Lacking toughness, leadership, mental toughness. That’s two games we’ve come away where we’ve conceded five,” he said.
“The manager will always take the responsibility, that’s what happens when you do this job. You have to prepare them, set them up.
“But somewhere along the line the players have to take responsibility for doing their jobs and being hard to play against, and being aggressive and competitive. I question if we were all that in the first half.”
Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke punished wretched West Ham defending before Nicolas Jackson struck twice to leave Moyes’ situation looking increasingly uncertain.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is also waiting to discover if he will remain in charge next season after a troubled debut campaign.
The Argentine, whose side are seventh and in contention for European qualification, bolstered his chances of avoiding the sack by masterminding a rout that made it 22 goals scored by Chelsea in their last six home matches.
“I’m so pleased,” he said. “It continues the same feelings after Thursday (the 2-0 win over Tottenham). It keeps the momentum. I think the performance was fantastic in all aspects.
“A few weeks ago I said I was so happy because we were so close to being in this position. That is the first step.
“The team is growing up very fast now. That is the minimum standard if we want to compete in this league.
“The objective for us is to be mature and to keep the momentum. Of course we are going to try to be in Europe. It will be good for the team and for the players to be in Europe next season.”
