A message from West Ham United manager David Moyes ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie with Hull City...
Hello everyone.
I hope as many of you as possible will tune into tonight's live stream and give the team your support from home.
These early rounds of the competition are, through necessity, coming thick and fast and we were delighted to have progressed through to the round three after beating Charlton Athletic 3-0.
I thought the players in that game showed a good level of performance and we will be looking for something similar against Hull tonight.
These cup games are vital because they give an opportunity for players who may not have featured in the early Premier League matches, to show us what they can do in a competitive environment.
These matches can give the younger players invaluable experience as well as help bringing others back to full match fitness, such as Robert Snodgrass who hasn’t played since February unfortunately because of injury.
I’m of course keen to stay in the Carabao Cup as long as we possibly can but I understand that there are many other clubs keen to do the same.
Tonight, we welcome Hull, who did very well to get past Leeds United via a penalty shootout in the last round. The two clubs are well connected, with Jarrod Bowen, Robert Snodgrass and a young Mark Noble having played for the club, while their manager Grant McCann, spent seven seasons at West Ham early in his playing career.
The condensed season means that there will be a result tonight, with penalties coming at the end of the game if necessary. I believe that, given the restraints this season, everyone is happy with that format. For this season in particular, this has to be the best and most practical way to proceed.
As far this cup tie is concerned, momentum is important. Every time we cross that white line, we aim to be competitive and winning breeds optimism and confidence.
Enjoy the game!
David Moyes
Manager
