David Moyes: "I think most people probably saw us being near the bottom of the league after the opening games of the season, so the players have done a great job." Watch West Ham vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
Saturday 5 December 2020 11:35, UK
West Ham manager David Moyes wants to change the perception of the club and insists his players know they will be "left aside" if they do not buy into his philosophy.
Moyes has done an impressive job during his second spell in charge of West Ham and Monday's home win over Aston Villa - their third consecutive victory - lifted them to fifth in the Premier League.
West Ham were 17th in the table and just one point above the relegation zone when Moyes took over last December and despite making huge strides under his leadership since then, the Scot is still looking for improvement.
"Being up there in a good position after 10 games is nice and the easy thing to say is it doesn't mean anything at this moment in time, but it does because we want to do better, we want to change the perception here," Moyes said.
"I think most people probably saw us being near the bottom of the league after the opening games of the season, so the players have done a great job. They've shown great commitment and the biggest thing for me is they are improving as well.
"When we came back from lockdown we were in really good form. I felt it went amiss because we were fighting for the results to stay up, but there was a definite improvement, bigger energy and a younger feeling about the team.
"I think the players now know this is where we're going, we're going to keep improving and if you're not going to join in then you'll be left aside."
Despite West Ham's impressive form, Moyes insists he has not held any talks with the club over a new contract.
His current deal runs out at the end of the season and owners David Sullivan and David Gold are expected to act to change that soon.
"We have not had any contract talks at the moment," Moyes said.
"But all I can say is that when I came back in I wanted to do a good enough job to show that I was worthy of a contract. I wanted to prove that.
"I am in no hurry to do anything because we are going along nicely, I don't want there to be anything to detract from that.
"All the players at the club have to prove themselves every week and if we decide to leave contracts a bit longer then it shouldn't have any effect on them either."
West Ham host Moyes' former club Manchester United on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, in what will be the first Premier League match with fans present since March.
London is currently in Tier 2 of the UK government's regional restrictions, meaning 2,000 West Ham supporters can attend the game.
Moyes added: "I have to say it has been really strange not having fans - but I don't know if it will be even stranger having only 2,000 back in a 60,000-seater stadium.
"We just want the supporters back. It is a start and the club have done a really good job in making sure that everything is safe and prepared, as have other clubs because we are fully aware of our responsibilities.
"Overall, it is great. I'm sure there will be some people disappointed they haven't got a ticket just now, but there will be others who are really excited to come back to a game."
Watch West Ham vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm.
