‘Needs a hand’: McCoist urges David Moyes to help ‘jaded’ West Ham star

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Ally McCoist urges David Moyes to sign a striker in the summer transfer window as Michail Antonio ‘needs a hand’ at West Ham United as he now looks ‘jaded’, he said on talkSPORT.

Moyes awarded Antonio his 31st appearance of the season so far at Southampton in the FA Cup on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old played the full 90-minutes on the south coast, as well. He has now seen out the full fixture on 25 occasions across all competitions this term.

Featuring at St Mary’s proved beneficial for Antonio as the Jamaica international ended his eight-game goal drought. He had not hit the back of the net since scoring at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day. The three-cap star now has 10 goals and nine assists this season.

But McCoist feels Antonio is starting to show some signs of burning out during West Ham’s recent games. His 31 appearances total 2,674-minutes with 11 Premier League games still to play. The Irons also face Sevilla in their Europa League last 16 first-leg tie next Thursday.

McCoist urges Moyes to spend as ‘jaded’ Antonio ‘needs a hand’ at West Ham

So, McCoist urges Moyes to sign a striker in the next transfer window to help Antonio and West Ham. The £7m former Nottingham Forest winger has been the Irons’ only recognised centre-forward since Moyes sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax for £20m in January of last year.

“The players need a hand, they need some help,” he said. “They need reinforcements, they need to strengthen. Everybody’s talking about it and the majority of West Ham fans come on the phone lines and tell us the same thing.

“They say they’re happy with the job Moyes is doing, but they really need to strengthen in [the] department. Antonio, as good as he is – he’s been terrific, he’s had a terrific season.

“But I’ve got to say, I’ve had a look at him and he’s maybe looking a little bit jaded, which is understandable. He needs a hand.”

Antonio has already pulled clear of his minutes total from the 2020/21 season during West Ham’s games this term. He amassed 2,073-minutes in 27 appearances in all competitions – one outside of the Premier League – between three spells on the sidelines through injury.