West Ham must use new resources wisely and well, says David Moyes
Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky has purchased a 27 per cent stake in the Hammers.
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Your support makes all the difference.David Moyes hopes West Ham use the new investment coming into the club “wisely and well”.
Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, Sparta Prague’s owner, last week completed his purchase of a 27 per cent stake in the Hammers, who sit third in the Premier League
Hammers boss Moyes said at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolves: “I hope the investment we’re able to use wisely and well.
“The club spent a fortune a few years ago and it didn’t work out right. So there’s got to be a way to think how is best to do this.
“Maybe investment in other things are more important – new seats in the stadium, bigger crowds, new things at the training ground maybe. I don’t know what way or where the new investment will directly come, but it’s always too easy just to say I’m guessing it will be for players.
“Maybe in the future it will be, but we’ve got to watch that we don’t go daft and do something which we regret.”
Moyes was asked if he had been told there was money available to spend in January, and he said: “I don’t really know the answer to that, because I’ve not really had a conversation about it.
“What I do know is I’m really well-supported at the moment. If I go and ask the club, that I need something or I’m looking for somebody, they’ll do everything they can to help me.
“But just to go back to the point – we just have to watch that we don’t think it means that there’s hundreds of millions to spend.
“The longer we can stay in this position, it gives me a better chance, going knocking on the door and asking for a wee bit more if we need it.”
Angelo Ogbonna looks set to miss the rest of the season, with the defender to undergo surgery after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 3-2 win over Liverpool earlier this month.
And on potentially signing a defender in January, given Ogbonna’s situation, Moyes said: “It could be a priority depending on how we go. I might consider bringing somebody up from the under-23s, or I might think about playing somebody else there. But it could be something we have to look into.”
After Wolves West Ham are set to play Rapid Vienna away in the Europa League next Thursday.
They were hit with a ban on their fans attending the game, and fined, following crowd trouble when they played Genk away on November 4.
Moyes said: “I was really disappointed because I think our away support have been brilliant, in the Premier League, in Europe. We were really surprised and shocked to hear what happened.
“We want to be in Europe, and for people to look forward to West Ham coming to play.
“I see Premier League teams who are in Europe, in the Champions League, every year and I don’t hear (about) any trouble coming from their supporters. I want to be one of the clubs doing that every season, every few weeks, and we have to make sure we are a club people want to have, and we need the supporters to see that. We have to move on.”
Next Thursday’s match is set to be played behind closed doors after Austria announced a lockdown and UEFA confirmed the fixture was still planned to take place as scheduled.
West Ham’s sanction is not being transferred, with UEFA saying their fan suspension is to be served against Rapid regardless of any decision taken over home spectators.