West Ham boss David Moyes wants his players to inspire a new generation of fans at London Stadium as the club prepares to take part in the Europa League.
The Hammers earned their place in the group stage of the competition with a huge sixth place in last season’s Premier League, finishing ahead of London’s rivals Tottenham and Arsenal.
Moyes has not yet strengthened his squad for the 2021/22 campaign, but it is likely that there will be a number of incomes in West Ham due to the increase in matches in the club’s calendar. A striker, a central defender and a winger are among the rumored priority areas, with Tammy Abraham and Jesse Lingard as the most high-profile players linked to a permanent move.
But when he spoke to the club’s official website, Moyes was keen to focus on other business areas – emphasizing the desire to maintain 60,000 capacity at London Stadium, as well as inspire a new generation of West Ham supporters.
“We are happy because what we know is such a fantastic stadium to host so many people,” said Moyes. “We have big, big crowds at every game now because the team has done so well. If I were a West Ham supporter I would like to come in and get a ticket to the game for what I see is Declan Rice, you have Tomáš, you have Micky Antonio, we have a really, really exciting team that is developing right now, so I think I want to come and watch.
“And we will do our best to entertain them and we want them to come and support us, get behind the team and support the players, sing their names and hopefully we will give them something to sing about.
“Everywhere I go people talk about how good they thought we were going to watch and how it was, so I think the fans will be desperate to come back and live and watch the matches. The 10,000 who saw us beat Southampton during that last season’s game I do not think they would be disappointed with that game and it was great to end with such a win and obviously confirm our place in Europe as well.It was a great moment for us.
West Ham have had a fantastic 2020/21 campaign / Pool / Getty Images
“We have to make sure we market the new young generation of supporters in West Ham because we do not want them all to go to the clubs that have been more successful in recent years, we need them to make sure we get We want that the arena is full, we want them to come and enjoy the experience.
“The team has changed, the club is changing and we look forward to getting really good support there that helps us along the way.”
The Hammers have a number of friendly matches left to play before the season begins, and will test their skills against Reading, Celtic, Atalanta and Premier League new boys Brentford in the coming weeks.
