David Moyes is looking forward to the challenge awaiting his West Ham United team across London on Saturday.
The Irons make the relatively short trip around the M25 to the west side of the capital to face Brentford this weekend, with the visitors looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
A disappointing week, which saw three defeats, was put behind the Hammers with a convincing and thrilling 3-1 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and the manager is optimistic his side can take their cup form into the league this weekend.
Playing on a Saturday is something of a novelty for West Ham, with involvement in the UEFA Europa League meaning Sunday league fixtures have become the norm for the east London side, but the match at Brentford will see the Hammers feature in the traditional 3pm slot.
The day and time of the match all play into the manager’s thoughts as a busy period for West Ham continues, with another midweek game to come in Europe on Thursday.
Speaking to the gathered media in his press conference on Friday afternoon, Moyes gave his thoughts on returning to Saturday football, facing the Bees, and his opinions on recent form of Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen…
Carabao Cup considerations
We’ve had a few good performances this season and then a difficult week, but the performance [on Wednesday against Arsenal] was good. More importantly, we knew we were playing a top team, and it was a good performance and a good result as well.
The draw in the cup is always the most important thing. If you get a good draw then it can help you, but I don’t think many would see this as a good draw. Nevertheless, it’s a cup competition and we’ll take our chances.
It’s always been so difficult to go to Liverpool but I see it as a challenge and I’ve always thought we’ve got a chance of getting a result there somewhere along the line.
Buzzing Bees
Brentford have done remarkably well over the years. They continue to do so well and they’ve got some really talented footballers. Sometimes I think they go under the radar a little bit but I think for people who watch them, you can see how talented they really are.
I’ve got high praise for Thomas Frank and high praise for Brentford overall. They’ve come through the leagues, got to the Premier League, and haven’t looked out of place since they got here.
They’re a really professionally run outfit who do a lot of good things. Their team has been really successful and I don’t think anybody is surprised to Brentford get results.
Ajax Associates
John Heitinga helped me when he was at Ajax. I spoke to him a couple of times, not just about Mohammed Kudus but also Edson Álvarez too, and he gave me really good reports on both of them.
So obviously John has worked with them before, knows them well and can give us a bit more insight about how Mohammed plays, and can help us understand how we can get the best out of him as well.
I think we’ve got a different group of players now to what we’ve had. The skillset that we have here allows us to offer different things to try and look to be slightly different. But ultimately, when you win games, you get praise for it and it’s said the players are playing well. If you lose, it can quickly turn to the opposite.
I think the team has been playing well and Mo’s been doing really well, as has Edson as well. We’ve been pleased with them.
When Saturday comes
I think playing on a Saturday really does make a bit of a difference. Partly because that’s the culture and history of football in this country, although that is changing as we all understand.
However, if truth be known, we’d have probably preferred this game on the Sunday to be honest because we played on the Wednesday night. We’re back to two day turnarounds again, but we turn up and play the games on the days we’re asked to do so.
Bowen’s record-breaking opportunity
I wasn’t aware that if Jarrod scores against Brentford, he’ll be the first player in Premier League history to score in a team’s first six away game of the season. He’s made a really good start to the season and his form has been really good.
There’s a real consistency to him at the moment and he’s getting goals. Let’s hope he can break that record tomorrow.
I think the length of his new contract would give an idea of what we think of Jarrod. I like Jarrod’s journey. Football used to always be about starting in the lower leagues and making your way to the top if you can, which is probably happening less and less in football nowadays.
For him to go from Hereford to Hull, and then Hull to West Ham United, and become an England international on the way, I think that says a lot about him and how well he has done.
