David Moyes has finally said his piece on those West Ham fans who criticised him during his tenure.

Love him or hate him, objectively, David Moyes is one of the most successful managers in West Ham’s history. What he’s done for the East London outfit can not be understated and, in some ways, it’s these immense achievements that led to him being so heavily criticised by the fanbase.

Despite many reports claiming things weren’t as close as he suggests, Moyes remains adamant that he had the chance to extend his contract back in December, but says that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to do so as he didn’t feel appreciated enough.

“We beat Arsenal at the Emirates at the end of December,” he recalled, “and the club had offered me a 2-year contract but I was delaying because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay. There was a group that underappreciated what I was doing at West Ham.”

The Scotsman went on to explain how he thinks a lot of the criticism he received was unwarranted as he got, what he felt to be, adequate results. “Right at the start I’ve come from a really attacking culture, the fans would always say ‘Don’t bore me I want to be excited by the football so don’t bore me’.”

“There might have been a lot of games where I bored people, but I got the result. I think there are a lot of teams in the premier league that would like a manager who’s going to keep them up around 6th or 7th in the league.”

“I think there’s a big thing about style at the moment but I feel as if I’m having to defend myself. I’m interested in attacking but I’m also interested in making sure I don’t allow your team to score goals, because that’s part of the game too.”

Unsurprisingly, many will disagree with what he’s saying. Ultimately, he can say that he’s ok with taking a defensive approach, but when you concede the most goals the club’s ever conceded in a Premier League season then you have to take responsibility. He can also claim that “a lot of teams” would want him, but a lot of teams changed managers this Summer yet he remains unemployed.

Maybe fans were too harsh on him, but he also certainly thinks too highly of himself and fails to understand why so many wanted him gone.