Nathan Trott’s West Ham United Premier League 2 assistant boss Liam Manning praised skipper Declan Rice for an outstanding display as he led the Under 23s to a play-off Semi-Final victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Trott is still recovering from an injury and watched the match from the sidelines.
West Ham scored twice late on through Jahmal Hector-Ingram and Martin Samuelsen at Molineux to seal their place in the final.
They will face Newcastle United – for a fourth time this season and a third at St. James’ Park – for a spot in Premier League 2 Division 1 next campaign and Manning stated the performance was the result of a season’s worth of hard work.
He said, “It’s the icing on the cake for a really tough season to get that result. It’s good to get rewards like that at the end of the season.
“It was an extremely difficult game. Wolves are well organised, they’re effective in what they do, they’re physical, so we’re delighted with the way the boys applied themselves. We kept moving it really well, and the boys do that every single day.
“I thought Declan Rice was outstanding at the back. The front two were a handful for them but he dealt with them comfortably and every week, we’ve said for the whole season, he’s been outstanding. He’s getting close to needing another challenge now.
“We have another trip up to the north east, and we have unfinished business up there to be fair. We went up there in the league and ground out a point and lost in the cup.”
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