How can Moyes motivate suspicious players?

Can Moyes motivate suspicious players who have lost faith in his tactics?

David Moyes will have a tough job on his hands during training this week. West Ham have conceded 9 goals in the last two games, despite Moyes having a reputation for organizing a tactically strong defence.

Kevin Nolan revealed that Moyes usually separates the starting 11 from the remainder of the squad in preparation for matchday. The thinking behind this is to drill the team defensively and limit the number of goal-scoring chances for the opposition. Which got me thinking . . . how is Moyes supposed to convey competency to the players with any sense of authority?

Coaching players to hold a particular defensive shape is one thing. But having the players believe in the philosophy is quite another. To put it bluntly, why should the players have any faith that Moyes knows how to tactically prepare the defence?

The Hammers spent the entire game against Arsenal on the back foot, defending for their lives. Despite an overly defensive tactic, the Gunners were able to score freely and notch up six goals. Quite frankly, we’re lucky Arteta took his foot off the gas and started making substitutions.

West Ham only lost by six because Arsenal decided that was sufficient and started preparing for their next fixture. However, during the 70 minutes when they actually tried, they scored at will from open play and set-pieces.

How can players have faith in Moyes training methods?

So what does David Moyes do? What pearls of wisdom can he possibly impart? We have shipped five goals against Fulham and Liverpool as well as the half dozen against the Gunners. Some might consider attack to be the best form of defence, but that won’t happen. Firstly, it goes against the manager’s ethos, and secondly, we don’t have enough attackers. Ibrahim Osman would probably have been a useful addition, but Sullivan pulled the carpet out from under Tim Steidten’s feet and refused to sign the cheque.

With Said Benrahma and the reinvigorated Pablo Fornals departing, West Ham decided to face the second half of the season with an unbalanced squad. With that in mind, it leaves little option but to select a defensive lineup. Unfortunately, it appears that the defenders can’t defend, which is somewhat of a problem.