David Moyes insists he has the full support of the West Ham United board, following his appointment as Slaven Bilic’s replacement on a six-month contract.
A 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool proved to the final straw in the Bilic reign, as he was dismissed days later with the club in the bottom three of the Premier League. The rumours of Moyes being installed had already begun by then, and he was confirmed as the Croatian’s successor earlier this week.
Although successful during his long spell at Everton, the Scot lasted less than nine months of a six-year contract after being named as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor at Manchester United, and he has also since been sacked by Spanish side Real Sociedad and he took Sunderland down last term.
For these reasons, West Ham’s co-owner David Gold admitted the decision to appoint Moyes was something of a risk. However, the 54-year-old has no qualms over the short contract he has been given, and insists he has the full backing of the club’s board as they look to climb away from the bottom three.
“David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady have all been really supportive,” Moyes told Sky Sports this week. “They’ve told me what to expect. There’s nothing they’ve said to me that frightens me. The job is not easy for any manager and you need good owners behind you.”
Moyes’ reign begins a week on Sunday, when he takes his side to Vicarage Road to take on Watford. In the meantime, he will spend the time prior to the fixture training his players, those who aren’t on international duty, and his first home match is against Leicester City on Friday 24 November.
