David Moyes is calling for the employers of east London to allow West Ham United fans to finish work early on Thursday afternoon.
West Ham play against Freiburg in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie at an unusual time — 5:45pm. Moyes hopes that flexible working hours will let supporters get to the London Stadium early, helping create an exciting atmosphere to overturn a one-goal deficit.
Addressing the odd kick-off time, Moyes commented: «We've got a strange kick-off time for a club in London. We've got to hope fans get through the rush-hour and flexible working hours will allow people to get to the game in time.
»Culturally we don't normally kick-off games at this time but we understand Europe and TV. Most people who live in and around London will tell you it is difficult to get to places at that time in the evening."
Many fans bought tickets for this game expecting an 8pm start — this having been the usual kick-off time for West Ham's European matches at home in the past three seasons. Due to the change in time, there are concerns about empty seats, reports the Mirror.
But Moyes believes that a good performance from his team could create the atmosphere they need. He said: «If we perform well we'll get that atmosphere,» adding, «We need to give the supporters something.
»We're a goal down and we need our home support. We had a penalty decision which didn't go in our favour in the first leg and you don't know how much of a role the home support played in that not getting given."
West Ham's track record is promising. They've scored 13 victories in their last 16 European home matches and the manager is keen for his squad to demonstrate they can handle the pressure.
«If you want to be on the big stage then now is
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