West Ham showed fans we care with comeback win against Chelsea, says Declan Rice

Declan Rice said West Ham’s dramatic late win against Chelsea last night showed their fans they care, as they boosted their survival hopes.

Andriy Yarmolenko scored an 89th-minute winner to seal a 3-2 victory at the London Stadium which moved the Hammers three points clear of the relegation zone.

David Moyes’s side fought back after having a first-half goal by Tomas Soucek controversially ruled out by VAR on a night when Chelsea missed the chance to go third.

West Ham have been criticised for their displays under Moyes since the restart, but Rice believes they produced a performance to make their supporters proud.

Rice, who was captain last night, with Mark Noble missing because of a hamstring injury, is confident West Ham will stay up if they play like that in their final six matches.

He said last night: “I wish the fans were here to witness that. We know recently it has not been good enough, but we showed the fans we do care, we do work hard and we have got quality.

“Everything emphasised what we are all about — grit, desire, hard work. There was not one of the lads who did not give everything. It is a deserved three points.

“The fans have been unbelievable. Sometimes they are not happy with the performances, and rightly so when we do not put in a good performance, but every one of them would have been really proud and would not have been sleeping.

“No one wants to be down there at the bottom of the table but if we play like we did tonight we will be just fine. Chelsea beat Manchester City and Leicester and they have looked really good since the restart. They are a top side. But the way we stuck together and the quality we showed... when that final whistle went, it is the best feeling I have had in a long time.”

West Ham move up to 16th after completing their first double over Chelsea since the 2002-03 season and they have a winnable run of games coming up in their fight to stay up.

Rice was outstanding alongside the impressive Soucek in midfield and he said it was a proud moment to lead West Ham to victory against the club that released him when he was 13.

“It is special,” he said. “Obviously, Nobes was not available, so the manager gave [the captaincy] to me.

“Without Nobes’s guidance I would not be able to put on the armband, really, and obviously the manager giving me his trust in a big derby game was special.

“The lads, the manager and coaching staff deserve it. The manager and the coaching staff put so much in every day. They are thinking about football 24/7 and they care for this team. I want to keep helping the team as much as possible and get out of this position.”

Chelsea wasted a chance to further strengthen their hold on a Champions League spot on a disappointing night for Frank Lampard.

The Blues remain just two points ahead of Manchester United and Wolves in the race for the top four and Lampard said the defeat was an indication of how far his side still have to progress to compete with Liverpool and Manchester City.

Lampard added: “It is a sign of where we are. We have a lot of hard work to do to get to where we want to be.

“The reason the rest of us are chasing Liverpool and Manchester City is because of the consistency they have developed. That is what we have to work towards.

“I would not call it a wake-up call because every game is different. This was not a huge surprise — if you know the Premier League and you make mistakes, it can happen. We move on.”

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