Pundit Danny Mills has revealed a surprise incentive could be playing a role in West Ham’s top four charge in their quest for Champions League football this season as he spoke to Football Insider.
Despite the most recent 2-1 defeat against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the Hammers have enjoyed a remarkable surge towards the apex of the Premier League table, disrupting the traditional top six in the process.
Under David Moyes, the West Ham that finished 16th at the denouement of the previous season looks to be hollow spectre of the past slowly regressing in the rear-view mirror.
The Irons have re-invented themselves and, aided by a handful of transformative acquisitions, are looking increasingly likely to secure at least a Europa League spot ahead of next season.
Aside from the obvious sporting accomplishments of breaking into the lofty heights of European football, ex-Leeds and England player Mills has used his connections at Leeds to offer insights as to how a bonus pay-out affects the dressing room.
Mills claims that some Leeds players said a significant bonus package was awarded upon achieving Premier League promotion, with David Ornstein reporting the Irons squad are set to share £10 million if they finish in the top four.
When asked on how this bonus pot could help hone the Hammers, Mills felt such an incentive could be a key factor in this season’s successes:
“Everybody has different motivations.
“Players will be looking at it and if that’s an extra little carrot and an extra little incentive that gets them over the line then there’s nothing wrong with that. You get rewarded for success, that’s the way I look at it.
“I remember talking to players at Leeds when they were trying to get promoted two or three seasons ago when they were trying to get into the play-offs and for some of those players the main motivation to get promoted was money, it was financial.
“The Roy Keanes of the world where you play just to win is brilliant and that used to be 99 per cent of the players but it’s not anymore. The world has changed and people have different priorities and different motivations.
“As tough as it is at times we have to accept that.”
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Whether it is cold, cynical or simply smart, money cannot be discounted as a useful incentive for footballing triumph.
Many may lament that such news could frame the Irons squad as mere mercenaries, though that would detract from seasonal form suggesting the squad is pulling in the right direction.
Whether the players fight for the cause or simply their own pockets, West Ham fans must surely just be pleased to see their club emerging ahead of the likes of Spurs and Arsenal as being in the driving seat for European spots.
