STUART PEARCE has told disgruntled West Ham fans to embrace their inner Take That and “have a little patience†with David Moyes and his faltering side.
The Hammers find themselves just two points off the relegation zone after 14 Premier League games.
Despite a mini-upturn in form, they have lost three of their last five outings.
A run of eight wins on the spin in the Europa Conference League has kept the boo-boys at bay, but they returned in force after Sunday̢۪s 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace.
They were particularly vocal following a pair of Moyes second half subs, booing the decision to take off Said Benrahma and sarcastically jeering Tomas Soucek being switched out.
Having reached the Europa League semis last season, many expected West Ham to be challenging for a Euro spot once more this campaign, especially after splashing out around £160m on eight new signings this summer.
But boss Moyes has so far struggled to get his new faces consistently firing, with the form of £30.5m Gianluca Scamacca and £36.4m Lucas Paqueta falling off in recent weeks.
Yet just like boyband ‘Take That’ sang in their noughties hit “Patience”;, ex-West Ham defender Pearce – who left his position as first team coach under Moyes in May – has called for just that amid frustration in the stands.
Ahead of their Carabao Cup third round clash with Blackburn at the London Stadium on Wednesday night, the 60-year-old said: “Football is a situation where you can’t expect, wherever you are today, to be good enough for tomorrow. It goes past you very quickly.
“As we stand, analysing West Ham’s start, if you turn two defeats into victories, all of a sudden they are top 10, winning in Europe.
“And if they beat Blackburn, you’d think you have had a really solid start.
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“You need to be patient. You don’t furnish the squad with the players David has bought without giving them time to settle into this country and get into a rhythm.
“One or two players just need to find a bit of form. Jarrod has not hit the ground running as he did last season.
“The team are evolving. Since Moyes walked through the door, he has lifted the expectation up, so don’t lose track of that. West Ham’s best form is yet to come.â€
West Ham’s last Prem game before the league breaks for the World Cup in Qatar is at home to Leicester – where three points could potentially take them as high as 11th.
Moyes is expecting to lose Declan Rice with an England call-up, as well as Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Lucas Paqueta (Brazil), Thilo Kehrer (Germany) and Alphonse Areola (France).
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