West Ham United manager David Moyes insists he still has the backing of the board despite Wednesday night’s 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United.
The result leaves West Ham in 15th place, level on points with Bournemouth in the relegation final of the Premier League and with one game to go over Gary O’Neil’s side.
Callum Wilson and Joelinton scored twice and Alexander Isak also netted at the London Stadium, while Kurt Zouma scored what would only be consolation for West Ham.
“I have no doubt that they (the board) are behind me,” Moyes told Sky Sports. “I trust their way of working and what they think. But if you’re a manager and you lose as much as I did tonight, you’re always in danger and I understand that.”
Newcastle scored their fourth and fifth goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, prompting a massive outpouring of fans before the final whistle.
“He could have come out tonight as well when I saw him,” Moyes added. “I have no qualms about them leaving after a result like that.”
“I love working with the manager, just like the players,” Rice told Sky Sports. “How he is as a person, as a man, is great for us.
“Obviously the fans are having their opinions expressed at the moment, and that’s football, you get it in any league in the country. It can’t be helped because they want to see results and they want to see performances and there has been a consistent lack of that this season.
“It’s hard, you have to try to block out the noise, stay positivity and that’s what we’re doing. As the captain, I stay positive, try to keep smiling, keep going, trying to keep the guys at it.
“It hasn’t felt like that in the locker room; I’ve been to West Ham before when we were there and you can feel a sense of negativity. With this group of guys, there’s no way that’s going to happen. At the moment, it’s just a matter of finding some consistency. If we can do a little race together, I’m sure we’ll pull through.”
West Ham is next in action on April 8 when they travel to Fulham. Moyes’ team will then face Genk in the first leg of the Conference League quarterfinals next Thursday.
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