DAVID MOYES has defended his decision to name cat-kicker Kurt Zouma in his West Ham starting line-up despite being an ‘animal lover’ himself.
Zouma played 90 minutes in West Ham’s 1-0 win against Watford less than a day after footage emerged of him KICKING and SLAPPING his pet cat.
But Moyes in his post match press conference insisted its his job to make the on-pitch decisions, in a lengthy answer to the uproar surrounding the decision to include Zouma in his team.
The Hammers boss revealed he was ‘disappointed’ by Zouma’s actions, but insisted work was being done behind the scenes to discipline the defender.
He said: “I am really disappointed and the club have taken all the actions that they can do at the moment.
“They are working on that behind the scenes. My job is to pick the best team for West Ham and Kurt was part of that team.
“I am a big animal lover. As I said, my job is to try and win for West Ham and to put out the best team for that.
“I think the club would rather deal with it all in time and they will let you know what the action is.”
Moyes acknowledged there would be anger from fans towards Zouma, which was proven by the 27-year-old being loudly booed by both West Ham and Watford fans.
The Scotsman continued: “I was really disappointed with what I saw and what I was told. But as I’ve said, it was my job to find the best team for West Ham.
“There will be people who will be disappointed at that and I understand that totally.
“I am someone who cares a lot about my dogs and horses and all the people I am connected with. I have spoken to him and we will move on as much as we can.
“We wanted to get this game out of the way and we understand nobody will be pleased about it. It is a poor situation.”
Moyes hinted that Zouma was extremely remorseful for his actions, and is ‘disappointed’ by the events that unfolded.
He claimed: “My feeling was that Kurt has apologised and I understand a lot of people will not just be accepting of an apology.
“But to me he came out and said that honestly and I had to do my job. That was to pick the best team. He is really disappointed. We have all felt it through the team and the club.”
The boss went on to reveal Zouma’s actions came as a surprise to the West Ham squad, who didn’t expect such vile behaviour from the 27-year-old.
Moyes continued: “We are all of the same feeling that it is something we didn’t expect of Kurt. We didn’t see that in his character or from him in anything we’ve come across with him.
“I always felt I had to separate them and let the club do their side and me do mine, which was the football side.”
And finally Moyes insisted that being a ‘disciplinarian’ manager means he would always act if necessary to regulate players, despite not feeling the need to do so with Zouma.
He said: “You are probably talking to one of the most disciplinarian managers there is. I would always act if I felt that it had to be done.
“I had to try and get a result tonight and Kurt was in our XI tonight. It was my decision to play him.”
Ex-Chelsea star Zouma was also condemned by West Ham, the RSPCA and other animal welfare groups after the video emerged on Monday.
Essex Police have confirmed they are probing the video and liaising with the RSPCA, who could prosecute Zouma, as part of their ‘urgent enquiries’.
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