West Ham vs Brentford: Uncertainty clouds David Moyes in bid to end Bees hoodoo

If Sunday's Wembley showpiece produced, definitively, the first step on Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour, then perhaps, for David Moyes, West Ham’s home meeting against Brentford will come to be viewed as something similar.

For all the external noise, until last Friday Moyes’s only public statements regarding his West Ham future had been upbeat, the Scot suggesting a contract extension would be sorted soon.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, however, Moyes offered the first admission that this season might be his last in east London, revealing that while a new deal is on the table, he will make no decision over whether to sign it until the end of the campaign.

“I want it to be right for the club and it to be right for me and my family,” he said. “You always know when you have got to the stage where you need to change, but at the moment let’s see.”

Immediately, the great interpretation game began; Moyes’s comments taken at face value in some quarters, but read with suspicion in others.

Whatever the reality, if Moyes’s aim was to provide clarity, he is surely not naive enough to think it will do the trick, the picture more clouded now. It is difficult to imagine such uncertainty being allowed to fester at Monday’s opponents. Brentford have long established themselves as the masters of future-proofing; the kings of succession planning.

Only last week, owner Matthew Benham sounded out investors for a partial or potentially even full takeover of the club. That might have been an alarming revelation to some, given the seismic role Benham has played in the club’s epic rise, but Brentford’s own statement was reassuring, insisting “it is only natural, and perhaps even essential, for us to explore what new investment could potentially mean for [our] future. We must not stand still and we remain determined to safeguard the long-term future of Brentford”.

Already, it has been made clear Ivan Toney will be sold this summer, with his replacement, Club Brugge striker Igor Thiago, secure. You can bet there are strategies in place, too, for the possibility Thomas Frank leaves the club.

Frank has had the measure of Moyes in their Premier League meetings thus far, winning all five matches. Winless in eight since the start of 2024, if tonight is to be their last in current guise, Moyes needs desperately to break that streak.