West Ham stars arrive in Prague – 20,000 fans will follow

Stern-faced Declan bidding to follow in Mooro’s footsteps

West Ham Euro Conference Final stars have arrived in Prague tonight with just one mission on their minds – to bring back their first Euro trophy 58 years ago when winning the Cup Winners Cup against 1860 Munich in 1965.

The Hammers of course face Fiorentina at the Fortuna Arena – home to Slavia Prague – on Wednesday evening.

And as we reported earlier the major issue at stake probably lies beyond even that, as a victory will see the club return to the Europa League next season.

Manager David Moyes and his staff departed their Rush Green training ground after a morning session and headed for London Stansted Airport.

The Mail reports that as they walked towards the flight, captain Declan Rice looked stern-faced, as he hopes to deliver the club a trophy in what could be his final game for them. He would follow in the footsteps of Bobby Moore who was the last Irons skipper to do so.

The squad arrived in Czechia on Monday evening after a 110 minute journey to Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport. They were then met by two coaches to take the team to their hotel in the heart of the city.

Meanwhile the London Evening Standard reports that around 20,000 Hammers fans will travel to Prague despite their only being 6,000 tickets available to lucky season ticket holders.

Supporters without a ticket will be able to watch the game at a fan zone in Letna Park, which has been designated for Hammers fans. The area will be large enough to host the thousands of ticketless supporters.

There is set to be a huge police presence, and Prague and West Ham have worked with local authorities to help ensure fans can congregate together safely.

By Hughie Southon