David Moyes has had five games at the helm of West Ham United since retaking charge of the club he formerly managed in 2017.
While his second tenure began with a rousing 4-0 victory over fellow strugglers Bournemouth, since then he is yet to win another Premier League game. However, any fans worried about the Scot’s appointment should look to his first spell in charge as an indication that result could still pick up.
When Moyes was appointed three years ago, West Ham were in a significantly more precarious position than they currently find themselves, 19th in the table with just two wins after 11 matches. There was no instant success for the former Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland boss, who collected a meagre two points from his opening four games, conceding 11, while scoring two.
It was a dismal start, but a 1-0 victory over Chelsea followed, along with a draw at Arsenal and three points against Stoke to lift West Ham out of the relegation zone for the first time in six game weeks.
At present, Moyes finds himself the right side of the relegation zone, but only just, with the Hammers level on points with Bournemouth, above the Cherries by a single goal.
Though the symmetry between his two reigns at the London Stadium is astonishing, as Moyes has overseen the same set of results, one win, one draw and three losses, from his opening five fixtures. Although, this time around, West Ham have conceded three fewer goals and scored four more than previously, so the signs are positive.
In 2017 Moyes overcame a tough run of fixtures, defeating Chelsea and drawing with Arsenal to turn the Hammers’ campaign around. He has the opportunity to do so again this term with Manchester City and Liverpool on the horizon.
Still, if his last spell proved anything, it is that West Ham continued to grow under Moyes’ tutelage as he recorded four times as many wins as Slaven Bilic. With 14 matches left to play there is plenty of time for the Scottish manager to transform results and if he can continue to match his previous spell, West Ham will accumulate a comfortable buffer to the danger zone.
