West Ham United manager David Moyes says he can’t wait to see London Stadium full with 60,000 supporters again as the Club get ready for an exciting season in the Premier League and UEFA Europa League.
With the Government having further lifted COVID-19 restrictions today (Monday 19 July) and the recent removal of limits on crowd sizes at sporting events, the Claret & Blue Army are set to return in numbers to the Hammers' home, starting with the mouth-watering Betway Cup clash with Atalanta on Saturday 7 August.
The manager is looking forward to hearing the roar of the London Stadium crowd, especially with such an exciting season in prospect at both home and abroad.
Moyes is determined to continue the progress and build on the foundations being put in place at the Club, and fresh from signing a new long-term contract, the 58-year-old is looking forward to the team being able to perform in front of the crowds they deserve once again.
"We are excited because as we know it’s such a great stadium to host so many people," Moyes said. "We have big, big crowds at every game now because the team has done so well. If I was a West Ham supporter I’d be wanting to get in and get a ticket to the game because what I’m seeing is Declan Rice, you’ve got Tomáš, you’ve got Micky Antonio, we’ve got a really, really exciting team in the making at the moment, so I think I’d want to come and watch.
"And we’ll do our best to entertain them and we want them to come and support us, to get behind the team and support the players, chant their names and hopefully we’ll give them something to chant about.
I’m looking forward to seeing 60,000 back at the stadium and I’m sure that with the way the team played last year the supporters will come out in force
David Moyes
"Everywhere I go people are talking about how good they thought we were to watch and what it was like, so I think the supporters will be desperate to get back and live and watch the games. The 10,000 who watched us beat Southampton in the last game of the season, I don’t think they’d be disappointed with that game and it was great to finish with such a win and obviously confirm our place in Europe as well. It was a big moment for us.
"We have to make sure we’re promoting the new, young generation of supporters at West Ham because we don’t want them all going to maybe the clubs who have been more successful in recent years, we need them to make sure we get them in at the games. We want the stadium full, we want them to come and enjoy the experience. The team’s changed, the Club’s changing and we’re looking forward to having a really good support there helping us along the way."
With a first-ever UEFA Europa League group stage campaign on the horizon too, Moyes is determined to give the Club' loyal and passionate fans even more to shout about in the months ahead.
He added: "I think the supporters saw an energetic, committed team which ran at every opportunity. Yes, we didn’t play well all the time, but most of the time the players were absolutely full on it, and I hope the supporters appreciate that and will come back and see a really good energetic team.
"I’m looking forward to seeing 60,000 back at the stadium, that’s what I’m really looking forward to now and I’m sure that with the way the team played last year the supporters will come out in force."
