Rice scared Moyes will be on his case

Declan Rice believes the Irons are at last on their way back to something like more acceptable form.

The defensive midfieler was again in great form as we earned a 1-1 draw against Everton which should probably have been more.

After four starts in the PL and FA Cup we have won two and lost and drawn one whilst scoring seven goals and conceding two.

Very early days under David Moyes but a pretty decent start and some sort of result against top three outfit Leicester City on Wednesday would give a major boost to the players and fans.

Rice is always upbeat – as is the case with most players called on for interviews – and the fact is there remains much room for improvement but it’s a start and at last there is hopw ehere under Pellegrini there was only abjecy despondency and pessimism.

Rice, in an after match interview at https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/january/19-january/declan-rice-squad-can-feel-our-improvement. said: “I think you can see with us on the pitch we have improved.

“We’re defending better now, we’re in better shape, we’re moving the ball around better, we’re switching it better.

“Football’s all about confidence, to be honest, and I think the lads have got that back. It was tough to take at Sheffield [United], we should’ve won today – with those improvements today, we’ve just got to get going.”

Via www.whufc.com

The England midfielder, who turned 21 this week, cited the coaching methods of Moyes as a factor behind his own personal upturn in form.

He added: “When he first came in, he said I’ve been doing well, but I could be doing better, and  that was the truth.

“We sat down, he showed me some clips where maybe I hadn’t been running hard enough and said ‘you need to run better, you need to run quicker, you need to get back into position better’.

“I have to say last three games, I’ve done that. It’s in my mind that if I don’t do that, he’s going to be on my case, so we’re doing that and we’re working together on the training pitch on my passing.

“He’s always encouraging me to play forward and switch the ball quickly, but he’s been really good not only for me, but for the other lads as well, because he says it how it is and wants everyone to improve.”

“With Alan [Irvine] too, his assistant [manager], they’ve both been excellent since coming in. The training’s been really good and the lads are really enjoying it.

“I know some fans will say that we should be winning these games at home with the position we’re in, but Everton are a good side with good players, and every point counts at the moment. We need to stay positive we’re going to get out of this.”