David Moyes is relishing a return to Premier League action when his West Ham United team take on Sheffield United on Sunday.
The Hammers travel to face the Blades this weekend in a first away league match of 2024, with Moyes’ side looking to extend their unbeaten run in the top-flight to five games and maintain a push for a fourth consecutive season of European football.
While the east London team head north on the back of a disappointing Emirates FA Cup exit against Bristol City, Moyes is confident his charges can return to winning ways against Chris Wilder’s outfit.
Not that the manager is dismissing the challenge facing his side. While Sheffield United sit bottom of the table, Moyes is aware they will be eager to make the most of home advantage and claim a vital win in pursuit of avoiding relegation.
The boss discussed Sunday’s opponents, their manager and both the benefits and drawbacks of the recent winter break when he met with members of the gathered media on Friday afternoon…
Setting up for Sheffield United
We’re looking forward to playing the game against Sheffield United. We’re going to be travelling up to Sheffield and we’re looking forward to it.
We were disappointed with Tuesday [away at Bristol City] but we’re getting on. We’re getting ready for the next game and want to be as prepared as possible. We’re back at it and hopefully we’re ready for the game.
Words on Wilder
Chris Wilder has always done a really good job. He’s won a couple of Manager of the Year awards due to the level of work he’s done at Sheffield United, and he’s got a great history there.
He’s back after a spell out and his teams have always been really hard to play against. He always had hard-working teams, and we know we’re in for a difficult game in a good atmosphere at Bramall Lane.
Winter break considerations
It's hard to give an exact answer on how beneficial the winter break is. I think we had less injuries in our squad when we were playing every two or three days. We had a good Christmas period regarding our programme, but we’ve probably had more injuries in the period when we’ve had more time off.
So, does having more time off guarantee you wins? I don’t think it does. The scheduling we had up until mid-December though, we were in need of a break just due to the number of games we had. I have to say though, we got a good break over the Christmas and January period.
Praise for Kudus
It was great for Mohammed Kudus to score two really good goals for his country. He’ll probably just be disappointed that Ghana didn’t win the game in the end [against Egypt]. We know his qualities and he’s done so great for us, and now he’s showing it on a big stage for his country.
A demanding Deadline Day
Transfer Deadline Day is a couple of weeks away and we’re going to be playing on the day again. I would say it’s probably not ideal but, in other ways, you could say you should have your business done before the last day.
A lot is made of the last day of the window and it can make it difficult when you’ve got a game on that day.
