LONDON : West Ham United manager David Moyes bemoaned his side’s fixture schedule after a 3-2 home loss to Leeds United on Sunday dented their hopes of a top four finish in the Premier League.

His side could have opened up a five-point gap on fifth-placed Arsenal and closed the gap on third-placed Chelsea to three points, but a Jack Harrison hat-trick ended West Ham’s run of three successive league victories.

Moyes questioned why his side played a re-arranged fixture against Norwich City in midweek.

“I think fatigue was a huge factor today. We had Leeds in the Cup and in the league game and because of how Leeds play with a high energy game,” Moyes told reporters.

“We did not agree with why we had to play Norwich when we did. We missed one game and not by our doing and we were made to go again at this point in the season.”

The rise in COVID-19 infections has meant 21 Premier League games have been re-scheduled so far this season.

Moyes says not enough thought is being put into when the matches are re-scheduled, saying his team were put at a disadvantage by playing a midweek game.

“The Premier League aren’t getting it right at the moment. The other managers will tell you how hard it is to play against the effort and energy of Leeds,” he said.

“Leeds have two (re-scheduled) games to play and were not asked to play midweek but we were. I cannot understand it and it only tells me that the people making those decisions do not understand what recovery means.”

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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