David Moyes is proud of West Ham’s progress

David Moyes has revealed his pride at the turnaround at West Ham as he celebrated two years since returning to the club.

Moyes began his second spell at the London Stadium on December 29, 2019, with the Hammers languishing in 17th, a point above the drop zone.

They will head to Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day lying fifth and in the mix for a place in the Champions League, and Moyes says there is plenty more to come.

“What makes me most happy is there’s signs of shoots of recovery at West Ham United Football Club,” said Moyes.

“People are talking about the football club more than maybe they have done in the past.

“That’s mostly down to the players, the young players and the players we’ve brought in.

“All those things I’m pleased about. We have a support that now enjoys watching the team.

“That gives me a lot of pride because it means you’re doing something right. The praise will always go to the players for the way they’ve performed.

“I’m trying to get better at what I do, change how we play and improve the style. But ultimately the big thing you want to do is win. I want to try and win as many games as we can.

“In the two years it’s maybe been as good a record as I’ve had at different times – our win ratio in the main.

“What I felt I could bring to West Ham was an idea of how you could build a football club and how you could grow it.

“We’re only at the start of that journey but we’ve started really well and now I hope we can try and get another layer.

“It doesn’t always come right away but for us to try and remain consistent like last year and finish in the top half would be another step in the right direction.

“There are other things I want us to grow. I want a better youth team, I want us to do much more better things around the training ground, as correctly as we can. There are a lot of things we can do to keep moving along.”

Declan Rice is another set for a milestone with the England midfielder in line to make his 150th Premier League appearance at Palace.

The 22-year-old has once again been West Ham’s stand-out performer this season, and Moyes has urged him to get even better.

“I want him to keep driving on. I want Declan to realise he can keep stepping up. I think he has stepped up again.

“After the Euros, out of the players who played he is one who has stood out since with his performances.

“He’s helped West Ham certainly improve, he’s helped us as a team and as a club. But hopefully we’ve helped him as well.

“He’s getting a chance to lead the team with a lot of responsibility. Declan’s all-round play has improved greatly and I think he’s shown a real level of consistency as well. His standards have been very high in the main this season.”