Tony Cottee has praised David Moyes on Twitter for the West Ham boss’ man-management while guiding the Irons into the last 16 of the Europa League after beating Rapid Vienna.
The Hammers clinched top spot in Group H with a game to spare by winning 2-0 in Austria on Thursday. They had already secured their place in the knockout phase with two games to play, having gone unbeaten so far through their first ever appearance in the group stage.
West Ham will now host Dinamo Zagreb at the London Stadium next month with nothing to play for. While their Croatian opponent must avoid defeat to ensure they remain in second.
Moyes has guided West Ham into the last 16 with four wins and a draw despite rotating his side continually. The Scottish boss is yet to name the same line-up in back-to-back games.
Only defender Issa Diop has started all five of the Irons’ group stage matches so far. Tomas Soucek, Mark Noble, Manuel Lanzini, Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals have featured in all five, but Moyes has substituted them into the game on at least once.
Diop is also the only Hammers player to feature for all 450-minutes of their European tour so far. Craig Dawson and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola have played the next most with 360.
Cottee lauds Moyes’ efforts to manage the minutes that West Ham players have featured for in the Europa League.
“Top spot in Group H and qualification for the UEL,” Cottee wrote. “Last 16, Moyes has managed our squad for this competition very well, so far! The European tour continues.”
Moyes is juggling West Ham workload well to continue Europa League adventure
Moyes is juggling the workload of his West Ham stars well to see that their Europa League adventure continues after Christmas.
He has already given 23 players at least one-minute in the competition, after Dan Chesters and Sonny Perkins made their senior debuts during the Hammers’ win over Rapid Vienna.
The Scottish coach’s work to rest players for Premier League games has also paid out in the top-flight. They are fourth after 12 games, and have also reached the EFL Cup quarter-final.
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