David Moyes: West Ham boss to celebrate 1,000th game as manager

David Moyes will become the 35th manager to have taken charge of 1000 games when he leads West Ham against Genk on Thursday

David Moyes says West Ham United are on the "fast train to the top" and he has no intention of jumping off as he reaches 1,000 games as a manager.

That suits the 58-year-old just fine as he really does not want the fuss. Not with West Ham on the verge of booking a place in the last 16 of a European competition for the first time since 1980.

In addition, they have beaten both Manchester clubs on the way to reaching the EFL Cup quarter-finals, while victory against Liverpool on Sunday could take them as high as second in the Premier League.

"If it had taken West Ham six years to get to this point [instead of two], West Ham supporters would probably have accepted it," said Moyes.

"Now we have to keep it going. Keep challenging, keep chipping away at it. We're on the fast train to the top and I don't want to get off."

• Chris Wilder on how Moyes's methods have kept him at the top

The changing world

Moyes will become the 35th member of the League Managers' Association's 1,000 club, having taken charge for the first time in a win for Preston over Macclesfield in January 1998.

"When you are younger, you manage with less baggage, you nearly don't care. You just get on and do the job," he said.

"There's been a strong change at clubs. Dealing with agents and players has become more difficult. Before players would hardly have come to the manager's door but now they go to the owner's door directly. I don't think that's a good thing.

"In terms of the actual game, it is in a really good place. There are a lot of young, exciting footballers coming through and there are styles of football that we are all enjoying.

"There are an awful lot of games and there is an argument about that but it's because the demand is so great, with so many teams and players making people want to watch football even more."

Man Utd disappointment

No conversation around Moyes' overall career can take place without the spectre of Manchester United in the background, after he was sacked 10 months into a six-year contract in 2014.

With the benefit of hindsight, his departure from Old Trafford was a trigger reaction to a mounting number of structural issues United have still not sorted out.

"I was certainly disappointed after Manchester United because I didn't get offered the job by the Glazers, or by [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward," said Moyes. "I got offered the job by Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex in many ways is the pinnacle of what people see in football in this country. To get that opportunity, it was something I felt I had to take."

Yet, looking back, Moyes feels he may have still had things to achieve with Everton.

"Leaving Everton was probably the strongest I felt because I had done so well," he said.

"We'd continually had season after season at a consistent level. But when I look back now, I say no, maybe I had another couple more steps to go, things to learn. We all get a bit wiser with age, look at things a bit differently, and maybe, make decisions slightly better."

West Ham finally the perfect place

David Moyes has taken West Ham to fourth in the Premier League

After leaving United, Moyes had brief spells with Real Sociedad and Sunderland before receiving his first call from West Ham in November 2017 following the dismissal of Slaven Bilic with the club was in the relegation zone.

In guiding the Hammers to safety with a game to spare, Moyes felt he had done enough to secure a longer contract at London Stadium. He had even spoken to a couple of prospective signings as he started planning for the new campaign.

Yet a day after the season finished, he was told there would be no new deal and he was leaving, quickly replaced by Manuel Pellegrini.

"That period was really tough," said Moyes. "We thought we had done a really good job, finished strongly and were making plans. Then, out of the blue, it wasn't there."

To the credit of co-chairman David Sullivan and David Gold, they were willing to swallow humble pie and ask Moyes to come back 20 months later when Pellegrini's reign turned sour.

Again, the task was to pull the club clear of relegation trouble. This time, Moyes received guarantees about what would happen if he succeeded.

However, not even Moyes expected the improvement to be so sudden or take them so far.

Not that he is taking anything for granted.

"Even with 1,000 games you cannot - just once - say 'this is it, I have got the job now, that's me' because the game will come back and get you if you don't keep trying to improve and challenge yourself.

"You need people around you doing it as well and we are really fortunate to have Declan Rice, as a player who is driving the team on and making West Ham noticeable again.

"West Ham is a good club for me and I am really grateful to the owners for bringing me back.

"Sometimes it's very hard to fight back but the owners have given me a chance and I am going to keep throwing some punches."