David Moyes stresses Wigan Athletic defeat was not a shock

Posted on March 23, 2018 in WAFC Wigan News

West Ham United manager David Moyes has stressed that the Hammers’ FA Cup fourth round exit versus Wigan Athletic may not be considered as an upset as the club only had a scattering of their Premier League players. The east London outfit were without the services of Andy Carroll, Marko Arnautovic, Mark Noble and Manuel Lanzini, and this cost them dearly as they bowed out of the Cup competition with a 2-0 defeat at the DW Stadium.

Speaking after the game, he said: “People shouldn’t be maybe that surprised because if you look at the team we played, I don’t think our team is necessarily a Premier League team. I think we had a scattering of Premier League players. Then we had young players, who’re on their way to trying to become good footballers. Maybe some of them, in time, will go on to be top Premier League players, but at this point in time it’s not the case.”

Will Grigg scored in either half for Wigan who clinched their second successive win over a Premier League club. The striker had a different view on the victory as he stressed the visitors had plenty of experience within the ranks to avoid the cupset. As a result, West Ham have won just three of their last 10 outings in all competitions, but Moyes will nevertheless be optimistic of beating the drop with the likes of Huddersfield Town, Southampton, Newcastle United and others currently struggling to clinch victories.

West Ham have vastly improved on their defensive statistic since Moyes’ arrival at the London Stadium, and they will back their chances of getting valuable points in the coming games with Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford on the fixture list. The club are presently 11th in the standings with 26 points, just four behind the relegation zone.