David Moyes has warned West Ham not to fall for any Spanish “dark arts” against Sevilla.
The Hammers trail 1-0 from the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against the LaLiga giants and face a tough task to get past the six-time winners.
Moyes watched Manchester United tumble out of the Champions League on Tuesday night against Atletico Madrid, who were not afraid to win soft free-kicks or stay down to waste time as they held out for a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
The Hammers boss said: “If you watched Atletico Madrid, they did a great job on Manchester United in killing the game off at times, so we have to be well aware how we manage that and we don’t let it get to us and keep our focus.
“We’re going to play against a side that will make it difficult, maybe disrupt the game at times and play a different way, so we’re going to need the crowd to see that as well.
“Right at the start, our mentality, knowing how to manage the game, knowing when we need to play at different speeds and how to do that, for us I hope we can show our experience.
“Am I a fan of the dark arts? I’m not. This is a gentleman’s sport. In some way we’re all desperate to win and we’d kick your granny, if you know what I mean, to try to get a result.
“But in the same breath, I think behind it all, you want to win in a fair and correct fashion.
“If you can, you want to play well but when it gets to the real sticky moments and you want to get over the line, you want to win it. So we need to make sure we can do that. We know it will be a difficult night.”
Thursday night’s encounter will be West Ham’s biggest match since their move to the London Stadium in 2016.
Leaving Upton Park for the former Olympic Stadium caused huge resentment for many fans, but Moyes admits these sorts of occasions are why the club had to make the move.
“I think this is what West Ham supporters hoped for when they did move,” added Moyes.
“I think they hoped for European nights and would be given opportunities to come to big games against big sides. In some ways we’ve done that but I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface, I feel as if this can only be the beginning.”
Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, who both went off injured against Aston Villa on Sunday, are back in light training and will be assessed ahead of kick-off.
