Gary Neville has lifted the lid on what Declan Rice told him before Chelsea played West Ham at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
David Moyes raised some eyebrows with his team selection for the Hammers’ clash with Chelsea.
The Scot made six changes from the draw with Burnley at the London Stadium last weekend, leaving out some of his biggest hitters.
Declan Rice was the biggest name to be omitted from Moyes’s starting XI and Neville spoke throughout the game about just how influential he is for us.
The 23-year-old has been far and away our best player this season. He is absolutely pivotal to everything that we do. But with a Europa League semi-final clash with Eintracht Frankfurt just four days away, Moyes obviously thought it prudent to rest the powerful midfielder.
Gary Neville shares what Declan Rice told him before Chelsea vs West Ham
Hammers boss Moyes quite simply had to make some changes this afternoon in order to keep things fresh for Thursday.
Having said that, Rice’s omission was still a big surprise.
And Neville shared what Dec told him before the game, when speaking on Sky Sports today (Sunday April 24th, 1:13pm):
“There’s no point in bringing him on unless he needs to. He was in the tunnel before the game and he said that he’s desperate and wants to play in every single match but I think David Moyes has got it absolutely right.”
We all know just how important Declan Rice is to this West Ham United team.
The simple fact of the matter is that he just cannot play each and every game.
What Declan Rice told Gary Neville prior to the game is evidence of just how much playing for the Hammers means to the 23-year-old.
We will need him to be at his very best between now and the end of the season. And hopefully the rest that he got today will enable him to do just that.
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT
