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David Moyes believes negative chanting from the terraces can place unnecessary pressure upon his players.

The manager led his team to a vital 1-0 win at Fulham thanks to a Harrison Reed own goal at Craven Cottage but was in full view as a black flag featuring the words 'Moyes Out' was hoisted in the away end at the end of the match.




And that negativity, warned Moyes, can spread right into the dressing room. When asked about the banner, he replied: "I can’t really answer that, can I? They can do that if they choose to do so."

There were also some angry chants directed at Moyes when Danny Ings was substituted in the second half, which the boss also believes were unhelpful.

Asked if that can add additional pressure onto the team, Moyes replied: "It can do, yes.

"But I have to say, the players’ response - and the way they have gone about it - after the midweek result? They pulled together to get a result today which they did magnificently, led by Declan. It was a really good, strong performance."

And when asked to explain the Ings substitution, Moyes revealed how he felt a tactical adjustment was required at that stage of the game, with the Hammers leading 1-0.

"I thought [Joao] Palhinha was getting too much into the game at the time and felt we needed to deal with it differently," he said. "We were also winning 1-0 and we’d also brought on a different attacking player in Said Benrahma for Pablo Fornals.

"We had swapped a real attacker in Danny for Said and swapped a midfield player for Pablo Fornals, so I think it is just the perception and how people see it."




On the game itself, Moyes insisted that his team were deserved winners in a match from which few clear goalscoring opportunities were produced by either side; West Ham enjoyed just 23 per cent of possession.

"We had to defend pretty well for periods and I thought we defended really well," he said. "It is not just the second away win of the season, but a second win in a week. Two clean sheets in a week. Two 1-0 victories in a week.

"In our position, I knew we had to win some away games. We dug it out today and found a way of getting a result, nicked a bit of a goal and got a chance. Fulham played well at times but we defended really well today. We made it difficult for them."

Moyes also gave a special word of praise to his defensive unit, marshalled today by the experienced Angelo Ogbonna in the absence of Nayef Aguerd who was rested today.

"We defended really well today and we did what we had to do," said Moyes. "Angelo has been great, a great player for us over the years and is still being required in terms of performances. He is a really good, experienced player I can trust.

"Sometimes we have to get in the right position and find ways of winning and I thought we did that. We would like to be playing slightly differently, but at the moment we need to get wins - and we got one today.

"I’ve said this before, we would like to play a more expansive game, that’s the plan. But when you are in this position in the league which West Ham have been in several times, you understand that there is a way you have to play to grind the results out. I think today, the decisions we made worked really well."

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