West Ham United players have been accused of a slack attitude during what has been a torrid season.
West Ham have struggled all season and many point to complacency in training and on the pitch as the reason.
Slaven Bilic was accused of not being strict enough with his players and a lack of discipline at the club and in training was cited as a key factor in the Croatian’s downfall.
It eventually did for his job and his replacement David Moyes admitted as much when he said the players had to work harder and get fitter, pledging to ‘make them cry’ in a bid to keep them up, as reported by The Independent.
One player who has benefitted from Moyes’ hardline approach has been Marko Arnautovic who has turned his West Ham career around under the Scot.
The Austrian was cited as one such player Bilic failed to bring into line with accusations of poor timekeeping and lack of effort in training levelled at the former Stoke City star.
But Arnautovic has taken on a more senior role under Moyes, leading from the front to help haul the Hammers to within one win of Premier League safety.
And he has shown that new found maturity by telling Sky Sports he will take matters into his own hands to ensure his teammates stick to the rules next season.
“Cheikhou Kouyate likes to come late and (Angelo) Ogbonna likes to come late,” Arnautovic told Sky Sports.
“I have to say me sometimes, I’m late, but not because of myself but because of traffic but I know those players they are living quite near in Canary Wharf and there is no excuse to come late.
“But I think next season when we are doing the fines then I don’t think anybody is coming that late.
“If he (Mark Noble) wants me to do it, I will do it and believe me I will go after you. Not angry but I’ll take your wallet, if you don’t want to give me the money somehow I’ll get it, 100%, maybe you’re training somewhere (and) I will go to your locker I will take this money because this is the money of the team.”
It seems the big striker is taking on the words of boss David Moyes who said last week he wants Arnautovic to become a real leader for the Hammers, as reported by Sky Sports.
“He’s got a leadership role which he needs to develop as well, for the club and for the team,” Moyes told Sky Sports.
“He’s getting to an age now where he’s going to influence players, and he’s going to have to influence players around him, so he needs to be doing it by his leadership and performance. His performances have done it in many ways.”
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