High-flying Hammers are the big noise for Moyes

David Moyes admits he is enjoying West Ham’s excellent run of form – and insists there is still better to come from his side.

The Hammers boss was a satisfied onlooker as the east Londoners beat Sheffield United 3-0 at the London Stadium on Monday night.

A penalty from Declan Rice, in addition to a header by Issa Diop and an injury-time strike from substitute Ryan Fredericks brushed aside the Blades, who remain adrift at the bottom of the Premier League.

For a couple of hours, until Chelsea overcame Newcastle United, West Ham were in the top four and now, in fifth, only goal difference separates the teams. Indeed, the West Ham surge towards a European place sees them hold a two point advantage above reigning champions Liverpool.

Therefore, Moyes is, at the present time, delighted with his players, with Jesse Lingard turning in another fine display in claret and blue since his loan arrival from Manchester United.

He said: “We’re enjoying it at the moment – why would we not enjoy being in the position we’re in? – and I just want the players to keep improving because I think there is a lot more to come because we can play much better than we played tonight.

“We’re still striving to get the balance of the team correct, but we’re doing a decent job at the moment. It’s a really important three points for us and another really good home win. We’re a team in progress, we’re trying to grow, we’re trying to get good foundations in place so that maybe in the future we can have regular good teams at the top of the league.”

Moyes has had to utilise his squad to cope with injuries to key men, such as Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna – but paid tribute to all those who contributed to what turned out to be a straightforward win over the Yorkshire outfit.

“One of the most pleasing things is that every player who has come in and started or come off the bench has made a big difference,” added the manager.

“Quite often, one of the boys who has come off the bench has won us the game or got us a result back and I’ve got to say Ben Johnson stepped in and Issa Diop came back into the team and did a good job.

“We’ve had to juggle things around a little bit, which is the way the season is at the moment as there are quite a few injuries around, so hopefully we’re able to cope with them.

“Michail Antonio is really important to us, but I thought Jarrod Bowen played really well tonight up front and supported Jesse Lingard, Manu Lanzini and Said Benrahma at times and caused problems in a different way and thankfully it worked.”

West Ham now take on London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at home on Sunday.