Konstantinos Mavropanos’ latest comments could increase the pressure on David Moyes at West Ham United
Konstantinos Mavropanos has admitted that he believes West Ham United have not yet reached their potential this season, believing the Hammers can “get even better”.
The Greek international joined the ranks at the London Stadium this summer from Stuttgart and has impressed in his early appearances for the Hammers, especially in the Europa League where he contributed to an impressive clean sheet against Olympiacos.
David Moyes’ side look set to reach the knockout stages of a European competition for the third successive season and currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, but Mavropanos still believes the Irons haven’t reached their best level.
As quoted by TNT Sport (29 November) he said: “If you see the quality of the players and, of course, the results, you can see that we have a lot of potential yet.
“We have the potential to get even better because the team and the players are at a high level and if we work more on that we can make it.”
Before the November international break there was a feeling of frustration around West Ham that the Irons hadn’t quite been hitting the heights expected of them given the depth of quality within Moyes’ squad at the London Stadium and Mavropanos’ comments may suggest that feeling was echoed among the playing squad.
West Ham have some genuinely incredible players in their ranks currently, whether that be in defence with Alphonse Areola and Nayef Aguerd, James Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta in midfield or Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus in attack.
With that added talent in the side, expectations have increased in East London and it is no longer enough for the Hammers to just be finishing in the top half of the table. European football is now an expectation and competing for continental titles is now a part of the Irons’ plans.
The Hammers look to have turned a corner in the last few weeks and have won all three of their last three matches. Now they have to start reaching that potential that Mavropanos believes they haven’t yet matched so that they can continue to climb the table and compete on all fronts.
If the players aren’t able to maximise their ability, fingers will once again point at the man at the top and pressure will mount on Moyes again. The tools are there for Moyes to make a very competitive squad, if they fail, it will be his head on the chopping block, not the players’.
