West Ham boss David Moyes refuses to consider surviving Premier League relegation a 'success'

David Moyes says he will never consider merely staying in the Premier League a success while he is at West Ham.

The Scotsman, brought back to the club in December to save them from the drop, was let go at the end of his first six month stint in east London as the board moved for a "higher calibre" of manager in Manuel Pellegrini.

Moyes has been brought back with one sole aim, to keep the club in the top flight, but insists that in the longer term his ambitions sit far higher than that.

“I’ve never classed staying up at any club a success and I never will," said Moyes. "And certainly not a club the size in West Ham.

“I have a job to do, we have a job to do to stay up, unfortunately. That will be reviewed by everyone at the end in the season."

Moyes remains confident of keeping the Hammers up this season, looking towards a more manageable run of games towards the end of the season to pick up points.

Should he succeed, Moyes is plotting to inject some more youth and hunger into the squad. Holding on to Declan Rice will be key in his plans, with the midfielder improving in recent weeks and putting on an outstanding display despite the defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday. If Moyes's plans stand any hope of working, others will have to follow Rice's lead.

"Yes because his first half wasn't good by Dec's standards," said Moyes. "Second-half performance he took it up, he drove the ball out for us, he took the ball out at different times.

"He's improving, he's getting better, he's learning. When you're in the team and you're a young player it's not easy, but you get judged very quickly. I think Declan is one of the players we are looking to be our main player and that's why he's getting selected for England.

"What we really want is a nice up and coming team with potential to get better, hunger to improve as individuals. But then we need people to take it on and show what it means, Mark Noble is a great example of someone who can show exactly what the club does, how we work. Declan's been here really since the start.

"But you want the young ones because they're the ones who will pass it on to the next group. I hope Jarrod, Declan, and a few of the young ones we've got in at the moment [can do that]."

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