David Moyes says he understands fans’ frustrations at West Ham’s worrying form, but believes they are victims of their own success after raising expectations in recent seasons.
The Hammers will spend Christmas just a point outside the Premier League relegation zone after Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Leicester made it four defeats from five in the League.
The Irons have won just four League games all season - against newly-promoted Fulham and Bournemouth, and against Aston Villa and Wolves at a time when both clubs were in disarray - and their current standing is a far cry from recent campaigns, when Moyes has had the Irons competing for European football.
Large sections of the London Stadium crowd left early after Harvey Barnes sealed Leicester’s victory with a breakaway goal, while many of those left behind booed the team off at full-time.
“Look, people are right because they’re not used to being in this position, they’re more used to being sixth or seventh in the league,” Moyes said. “Last year, probably at this time we were challenging for Champions League, we’d been in the top four for long periods. So, I can understand that.
“I can understand, people want winning teams, want to be at the top of the league - so do we, so do the players. That’s what we’re planning to do next.”
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was under intense pressure earlier in the season after the Foxes made a dreadful start to the campaign but praised the club’s hierarchy for their loyalty amid a significant upturn in form.
Moyes is reliant on similar support from West Ham’s owners - who backed him to the tune of £150million this summer - with pressure growing on the Scot to turn things around swiftly when the season restarts on Boxing Day.
“I’m really grateful to our club for the support they’ve given me,” Moyes added. “I’d also like to say I think I’ve done not bad for them over the last two and a half years either, so I think it works both ways.
“We’ve tried to work together, but Brendan has been there as well and he knows that in football we’ve all been there and know how the business works. We’ve done a lot of good things but we can’t find a way of scoring goals at the moment.”
