The Scottish coach has returned to the London club but feels he now has better tools at his disposal
David Moyes said he was hit with nostalgia when he returned to West Ham on Monday morning to resume his post as manager – the club that sacked him a year and a half ago.
The Scottish tactician signed an 18-month contract to replace Manuel Pellegrini, who was dismissed after a run of nine defeats in 12 games culminating in a 2-1 loss to Leicester City on Saturday.
Moyes managed the Hammers for seven months in 2017-18, following the sacking of former boss Slaven Bilic in 2017, but was removed in favour of Pellegrini who was supposed to have been seen as a step up in calibre.
The former Manchester United boss felt he was starting to build something during his last stint with the London club, but he will now likely have to start again at the beginning.
“I actually thought that I had got rid of some of the things and we’d got to a bit where .. there was quite a bit of non-negotiable ‘you’re doing the work’ but I feel I might have to go back to the start and say ‘we’re back to here’ and I’d have liked to have come in with a new message,” Moyes said.
“What I do believe is that we have got a stronger and better squad now than when I first came in. I think getting the right balance, team and formation is something we will need to work on in the coming weeks and months.
“I’d have said that [discipline] was probably one of the biggest jobs I had when I came in last time.”
Moyes left the London Stadium in May 2018 after the club decided not to renew the short-term contract he had signed, despite him keeping the club in the Premier League with two games to spare.
It gives him the curious position of having replaced and been succeeded by the same manager in Pellegrini.
And he intimated that he would be using similar methods of coaching to his tenure before the Chilean took over.
“There can only be certain limits with what you can do but it looks like I am going back to that level and saying ‘this is how it is going to be’,” Moyes said.
“You either get on board or you don’t because I haven’t got enough time and enough games – if one or two of you don’t like it then sorry let me know.”
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