David Moyes must unleash rarely seen West Ham attacker he is a huge fan of to save job
COMMENT
It's not been a great season for West Ham.
Okay, that's putting it mildly. It's been a disaster.
Two points and one spot above the relegation trapdoor wasn't where West Ham were looking to be in their new home.
Fan protests blighted the last home game and owner David Sullivan took a coin to the eye in fairly shocking scenes.
But, scratch the surface, and there are lots of good things just underneath.
Nathan Holland is one of them. The 19-year-old winger has just returned to the Under-23s after a hamstring injury he picked up training with Moyes and the first-team in the new manager's first week in charge.
According to Football.London, Moyes is a huge fan of the youngster, who has made one senior appearance in the EFL Cup.
But for the injury he might well have made more of an impact in the first team this season, but the player thinks he's come back better for the experience.
"Considering how long I've been out injured, I think I have coped mentally very well," Holland said as quoted by Football.London.
"I feel like it has actually made me mentally stronger and determined to recover. While it's been frustrating, I think the experience overall has helped me in some ways and made me a better player."
While West Ham are in relegation trouble, Moyes' hands are tied. But, as soon as they're mathematically safe (and surely this squad is too good to go down, despite the evidence of the Premier League), Moyes must unleash Holland in the first team and assess him properly before next season.
West Ham need investment in the summer but players like Holland and Under-23s teammate Marcus Browne must be given a chance to progress up.
Too many teams are letting young talent go to waste and after identifying Holland as a future talent, Moyes must follow through and show that West Ham do have talent within.
His job could depend on it.
In other West Ham news, New report about West Ham owner could spell more trouble for clash v Southampton