David Moyes has blamed the absence of Declan Rice for West Ham\u2019s heavy away defeats this season after his side\u2019s 5-0 loss at Chelsea on Sunday.<\/p>\n West Ham delivered a woeful first-half display which saw Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke put Chelsea three goals ahead by half time before Nicolas Jackson struck twice after the break.<\/p>\n The defeat at Stamford Bridge was the sixth time West Ham have conceded four or more goals on the road this season and a fifth loss in six away games in all competitions.<\/p>\n Moyes believes the departure of Rice, who joined Arsenal in a \u00a3105 million deal last summer, has been a key factor behind his side\u2019s poor defensive record this season. West Ham have now conceded 70 goals in the Premier League so far \u2013 the most that a side managed by Moyes has shipped in a single campaign.<\/p>\n Asked why West Ham have suffered heavy defeats away from home this term following the 5-0 loss at Chelsea, Moyes replied: \u2018Declan Rice.<\/p>\n \u2018You get the best midfield player in the country, protecting, making sure the moments and times you limit maybe 50 per cent of the attacks and the moments, when you get that then it makes you a much better defensive team.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019ve lacked protection in front of the back four, we\u2019ve lacked good enough defending, we\u2019ve just not been good enough on those things in many games.<\/p>\n \u2018But, you know, as I\u2019ve said, you\u2019ve got to be careful, you\u2019re talking about a team sitting in a really, really strong position. We\u2019ve had a couple of bad days away from home, we have to try and eradicate that and make it better.<\/p>\n \u2018As I said, I\u2019m trying to put a bit of mental toughness when we need it. The teams I normally prepare would normally have it. You could always lose the way you lose.<\/p>\n \u2018To be fair, you have to say Chelsea are in a pretty good moment at the moment. We\u2019ve hit the bar three times today and Emerson\u2019s missed a sitter, so if the game had ended up 5-3 you might have said, \u2018hey, West Ham had a right good go\u2019. What was a couple of inches either side, it\u2019s an easy thing to say, but we\u2019ve come here with a few chances but we\u2019ve not been able to do the basics defensively to give ourself a chance to stay in the game.<\/p>\n \u2018This exact same team drew 2-2 with Liverpool last week.\u2019<\/p>\n When asked about managers already being linked with his job, Moyes replied: \u2018I\u2019m going to talk to the board at the end of the season, so we\u2019ll do that then.\u2019<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on \n\t \n\t \n\t This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n \t\t\t\t\t![\"West](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/SEI_202761047-af86.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=644%2C429\")
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