(Reuters) – West Ham United manager David Moyes wants his team to think of themselves as favourites to win the Europa League after they reached their first major European semi-final in 46 years with victory at Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday.
West Ham stunned the French side 3-0 in the second leg to advance 4-1 on aggregate and set up a semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt were also the opposition in the semi-finals of the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup, West Ham’s last major European semi.
“We’re not favourites, but I want the players to think that they are,” Moyes told reporters. “I want the players to have great self-belief and I want them to think right from the start of the tournament.
“I’ve always thought the form we were in at the start this season, I would have taken anybody on at that time.”
Moyes, who took West Ham from the brink of Premier League relegation in the 2019-20 season, said it was a “monumental period” for the London club.
“I’m hoping we can keep it going, I’m hoping we can be talking about the final soon,” he added.
West Ham are sixth in the Premier League on 51 points with six matches left. They host Burnley on Sunday.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
