West Ham aiming for Champions League claims Declan Rice
By Alex Smith
West Ham are enjoying yet another fantastic season with the club currently in 5th place in the Premier League and through to the Round of 16 of the Europa League.
In a recent interview with The Daily Mail, Declan Rice has opened up about West Ham’s targets for the remainder of the season.
Additionally, he said that there are “no limits to what we can do” showing he has high hopes for the team and plenty of confidence.
West Ham star man Declan Rice has spoken about the club’s aims and a possible Champions League finish this season.
He said, “We can achieve good things. We want the Champions League, that’s what everybody wants.”
The Hammers finished 6th last season, just two points behind Chelsea in 4th who earned the last Champions League place. Rice is hopeful he can guide the team to better but is aware it will be very tough.
He continued, “I feel top six is more of a bigger aim for us”, with the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Man United battling for 4th – another top six finish and European qualification would be a great achievement and despite hoping big, that is probably the more realistic target for West Ham.
There are rumours that Rice may leave the club soon to compete for the biggest trophies, how this would influence West Ham is unknown, however, he had his eyes firmly set on the remainder of this season in a claret and blue shirt.
“There’s so many positives to take and if we can add one or two in January and really look towards the European games coming up, when we’ll probably play a big side, we can go far”
Manager, David Moyes, is keen on bringing in a striker as well as a centre-back in this transfer window. The likes of Adam Hlozek and Matthias Ginter are just some of the names mentioned as is the return of Jesse Lingard.
There could be some departures too, nine West Ham players have contracts expiring.
Moyes is working hard to identify the best players to add to his squad and Rice praised the West Ham boss. He said, “He’s got that presence, authority, he’s no nonsense. He won’t take any s*** and he’ll say it how it is.”
Rice added, “If you don’t like his methods and the way he plays you can do one. That’s pretty much what he said when he came in.”
“We had a meeting and he put up loads of stats on a board, running stats, distance covered and said it’s not good enough, and if you don’t want part of it don’t play.”
Moyes has installed confidence in the team and there is a belief amongst the players that the hard work has paid off, “Everyone can see we’re in full flow” said the West Ham vice-captain.