David Moyes would ‘love to’ win trophy with West Ham but sees league as priority

David Moyes insists he “would love to win a trophy with West Ham” but his priority will always be the Premier League.

The Hammers, riding high in fifth place in the top flight, play at Tottenham on Wednesday night for a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and are also through to the last 16 of the Europa League.

Moyes said: “I’d love to win a trophy with West Ham. West Ham has had a history of trophies in years gone by. Maybe not in modern days, so it would be a great achievement.

“There’s a growing process to winning trophies and I think you have to try and build your club up to get to a level where you can be competitive in all the competitions.

“For example, I wouldn’t like to win the League Cup and find myself struggling at the bottom end of the Premier League.”

Moyes guided West Ham to a sixth-placed Premier League finish last season and they only recently slipped out of the top four after defeat to Arsenal in their last match.

“Being a good league side is really important, I think for any club,” Moyes said. “Partly because of your placement, partly because of the money and I think for all your supporters who come to all the games and pay for their season tickets.

“The cup competitions are hugely important and you want to win, but I still see league football as what your job is to do.

“I would love to be a trophy winner at West Ham and I’ll do everything I can and we’re still in all the competitions at the moment.”

The Hammers halted Manchester City’s bid for a record-extending fifth straight League Cup triumph by beating them on penalties in the previous round.

Moyes agreed victory over London rivals Tottenham would be a big boost for his side, who have won only one of their last six matches in all competitions.

“Yeah, I think so,” the Scot added. “I think you want to keep winning, you want to keep momentum going, so yes, if we could get ourselves through this round of the cup it would be a big step for us again.

“We’re more than capable, but we’re also up against a good side at the moment as well, so we understand that.”

West Ham will be without suspended Czech Republic defender Vladimir Coufal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Kurt Zouma and Ben Johnson have been recovering from respective hamstring injuries.

Moyes revealed “one or two” had recently tested positive for coronavirus, but did not specify if they were players or staff members.