David Moyes is confident he has inherited a West Ham squad capable of climbing the Premier League.
Moyes is back at the London Stadium for a second spell in charge after the sacking of Manuel Pellegrini on Saturday night.
West Ham have turned to the man who saved them from relegation two seasons ago following a run of nine defeats in 12 matches which has plunged them into another battle to beat the drop.
The Scot, 56, insists he has a side capable of challenging at the other end of the table.
“We have a lot of talented players, so how can you mould them into a team that gives you a level of consistency?” he said.
“I think there were a couple of times this season when I heard on the radio that West Ham had the chance to go third in the Premier League.
“Because of that, it tells me there is a capability to be in a really good position.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
New West Ham United manager David Moyes during the press conference at Rush Green Training Ground (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
“They never did, so it slipped away at different times, but I want to get back into a position when I can get West Ham to, one Saturday, can we go third in the Premier League?
“It doesn’t look like that is going to happen this season, but that is not to say it won’t happen in the future.”
With Pellegrini’s backroom staff all departing as well Moyes oversaw training on his own on Monday morning.
He will have trusted lieutenant Alan Irvine as his assistant when they host Bournemouth on New Year’s Day, while Stuart Pearce is also being lined up to return to the coaching team.
FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.
