West Ham manager David Moyes had a frosty exchange with a reporter when asked about his future at the club following their side's Europa League defeat.
Moyes' contract is due to expire at the end of the season, but it is unclear whether he will sign an extension.
West Ham were drawn in the second leg of the quarter-finals, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Bayer Leverkusen. 1-1 at the London Stadium.
After the match, Moyes and his accompanying media representatives took exception to questions at the press conference.
The conversation went like this…
Reporter: “If this was the end of your term at the end of the season, how would you reflect on it?''
Moise: “Sorry, I didn't understand that question.”
Media contact: “We are not focused on the end of the term.”
Moise: “We just played our third quarterfinal there.”
Reporter: “I was remembering the three years you spent in Europe and the moments you gave these fans…”
Moise: “That's a better question. We've reached the quarter-finals three times, won twice and it was close tonight. The supporters enjoyed great nights against Alkmaar and Sevilla. Leverkusen are a Champions League team and , playing like that. We're having a great three years and we hope we can reach fourth place. ”
Moyes had been involved in the game too long to realize that questions would continue to be asked about his future until a decision was made.
Also, some West Ham fans believe that despite his consistent best results over a generation, he has lost interest in the club, mainly due to what they see as passive tactics. We understand that some people may prefer to leave.
Moyes' side sit eighth in the Premier League and almost certainly need to move up to seventh if they are to win European football for a fourth consecutive season.
It won't be easy considering they have played more games than all the teams around them and their last five opponents include Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
On a night when new German champions Bayer Leverkusen needed a late goal to prevent West Ham from suffering their first defeat of the season, manager Xabi Alonso said the only good thing for them after a terrible first half was a two-goal lead in the first leg. He said that's what he did. It had not been completely wiped out.
Moyes felt his team should have taken a further lead at half-time, but was frustrated by the performance of Spanish referee Jose María Sánchez Martínez.
However, the West Ham manager was uncomfortable being asked to articulate a view that many of the media present seemed to agree with.
“I'm going to turn the question around and ask what you think about the host,” he said. When the questioner changed the subject, Moïse replied: When told that the “fans” were not impressed, Moyes asked: “Are you a fan or are you just reporting?”
He later said, “He knows it was.” [a] very poor [question] But he wanted me to say it. ”
But Moyes admitted: “I've been a manager in Spain and I've watched a lot of Spanish football. If that were the case, I wouldn't watch too many Spanish games.”