'It's About The Collective Under Moyes At West Ham'
- West Ham United are Leicester City's next opponents at King Power Stadium on Sunday
- The Premier League clash at King Power Stadium is a 4:30pm kick-off
- Phil Parry, from BBC Radio London, has provided the lowdown on David Moyes' men
- Fans can listen to live LCFC Radio coverage of the match from 3pm on Sunday
The Hammers visit King Power Stadium on Sunday to face Leicester City in the Premier League (4:30pm kick-off). After a sixth-placed finish in the top flight last season, Moyes' east London outfit have regularly occupied a spot in the league's top four throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
Ahead of them tackling the Foxes on Filbert Way, Parry, who covers West Ham regularly, spoke to LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show to provide an assessment of Leicester's upcoming visitors.
"Fourth spot, a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup, into the knockout phase of the Europa League as well, challenging for the Champions League places... I think at the start of the season, that certainly would have been a very good ambition," Parry said earlier this week.
"They challenged for Europe last year and got into the Europa League of course. There was a spell where they were in the conversation about the top four before falling off last year.
"The solidity and consistency they came into this season with, plus a couple of additions to the squad, it gave them confidence that they could at least match that. They had to keep people fit and David runs on a relatively small squad, which suits him in many respects, but if you pick up a couple of injuries, there are a lot of games in that first chunk of the season.
"Maybe they had a little bit of a drop off, but they're handily placed going into this final segment of the season."
Most football fans would be able to point to the individuals who have shone for West Ham this season – with Parry picking out similar names himself – but the BBC Radio London journalist also described the sense of 'collective' which exists at London Stadium.
"Declan Rice is an absolute stand-out," he added. "The progress he has now made over the last couple of seasons... we all knew that he was a good player, but the strides he's taken over this last 12 to 24 months, his leadership qualities, his actual football ability, the fact he can drive the team forward from the 18-yard box to the opposition's penalty area... all those factors mean he's a very key player.
"We know, with the structure they've got, that people like Michail Antonio are very important. It's more to do with the ethos and the ethic behind the way they approach their football. Those players who are succeeding for them, they're also the ones who put a lot of effort in.
"Jarrod Bowen has again had a super season. He's back into England conversations. His importance was shown last week with the winner at Kidderminster Harriers. The midfield engine room, with Declan Rice and Tomáš Souček, have been very important. It's about the collective.
"That's what David Moyes likes to do with his teams, but within that, individuals certainly do stand out."
West Ham recovered from consecutive defeats to Leeds United and Manchester United to squeeze past Kidderminster Harriers in the Emirates FA Cup earlier this month, before securing a 1-0 victory over Watford on Tuesday. Parry says that resilience will bode well over the final months of the season.
"They got the result they needed in midweek, which will give them confidence," he added. "They had a tough FA Cup experience. It was probably tougher than they thought at Kidderminster. They were so close to going out or to penalties, so there was a mopping of the brow as a consequence of that.
"They got two very, very late goals, one at the end of the 90 and one at the end of the 120. I think they feel confident that they can go and get results. They can get results by not necessarily playing their best football. That's a sign of a team that's pretty effective and well-structured."
All times GMT.