David Moyes praises West Ham fans for making 'atmosphere like Upton Park'

Saturday 25 November 2017 07:44, UK

David Moyes praised the home fans for sticking with his West Ham team and likened the atmosphere to Upton Park in the 1-1 draw with Leicester.

The Hammers extended their winless run to six games with the result but there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.

After falling behind early, the atmosphere could have turned toxic inside The London Stadium but - as Moyes had called for all week - the club and fans stuck together and got a deserved equaliser through Cheikhou Kouyate right on half-time.

Moyes acknowledged the crowd's backing.

He said: "We were a little bit unlucky to go behind - we showed character. We could've gone under but they kept digging in.

"We didn't play as well as we should have in first half but we warranted going in level at half-time. The second half was much more like us, it was more like the crowd, it was more like Upton Park. There was 10 minutes when the crowd was right behind the team - they need it, we need it.

"The players worked hard and deserved the applause. When we went 1-0 down, the supporters didn't boo - they understood we didn't deserve to be behind. The players stuck at it.

"I thought the second half was terrific in the way the supporters got behind the team. They got behind them as they saw the effort from the players. It goes hand-in-hand."

Marko Arnautovic, who has flattered to deceive since joining from Stoke City in the summer, put in a much-improved showing on the right wing. His willingness to work back and help out his defence was duly noted by Moyes.

"He was very good - people told me on Sunday that was one of his better games," he said.

"He showed the other side to his game that he knows he has to do.

"He needs to make sure he does that week-in, week-out. They've all got to do it, they all tried to the best of their ability."