And after successfully steering the club into their first major European final since 1976, nothing was going to take that wide grin away.
“It is the glow you get after you win,” beamed the proud Scot following last night’s wonderful 1-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar that set up next month’s UEFA Europa League Conference final date with Italian outfit, Fiorentina.
“I’m thrilled for the players and really thrilled for everyone at the football club, including the owners, who said that they were going to bring European football back to London Stadium. Well, we’ve now brought them a European final!
“The win was more than just a win tonight because it’s got us into that final of a European competition after coming really, really close in the UEFA Europa League last year, when we reached the last four.
“I’d reminded the players about how we all felt after losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in that semi-final – we certainly didn’t want to feel that way again and I’ve got to tell you that there are some totally different scenes in our dressing room tonight. It’s raucous in there. It’s fantastic!
“In football, you’re always loathed to put titles on things but for me to get to a European final is, in many ways, the greatest moment of my managerial career.”
The determined and dogged Hammers had defiantly defended their slender 2-1 advantage from last Thursday’s semi-final first leg at London Stadium before Spanish supersub Pablo Fornals struck late to give them another valiant victory at the AFAS Stadium as the deadlocked Dutch return headed into its fifth and final frantic minute of stoppage time.
‘When the draw was made, I thought AZ were going to be a really tough opponent and that proved to be the case,” added Moyes.
“They’d already beaten Lazio and Anderlecht and are a good football team, who play in a really good style but on the night, we were able to keep them out before nicking a goal.
“I knew we probably wouldn’t have a lot of possession but there are different ways to win football matches. Part of the job was to keep a clean sheet and you’ve always got to try and do that.
“We were really organised and had a good defensive structure when we needed it. We might not have been at our best in across these two games but we’ve played in a style that’s got us over the line and into the final.”
Sadly, today’s headlines will be dominated by the ugly scenes witnessed at the final whistle, when a gang of Alkmaar assailants broke through stadium fencing to confront a section of travelling supporters, which included the family and friends of the playing squad and coaching staff.
“I can’t explain what happened or why it happened,” said Moyes, clearly determined not to let a few moronic minutes of mayhem take the gloss off a night of East End ecstasy.
“The players got involved, too, because it was in the section, where most of their family and friends were sat. I also had my people in there but I don’t want it to blight tonight in any way because it wasn’t the West Ham United fans who were looking for trouble. They were just happy to celebrate at the end of the game.
“Hopefully, people will look into it and find the reasons why that all happened.”
Meanwhile, the Hammers manager’s focus remains purely on the football and another epic Euro encounter for his team at Prague’s Eden Stadium on 7 June.
“We’re all going to enjoy tonight and our supporters certainly will, too,” concluded the Scot knowing that there is now just one last hurdle to clear in order to lift that Conference League trophy in the Czech capital.
“European finals don’t come along too often for managers and players during their careers so it’s such a great achievement for West Ham United Football Club to be there.
“We’ve done a really good job this season, winning 13 and drawing one of our 14 matches and now we’ve got just one more game to go against Fiorentina to see if we can actually win the competition.”
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