Our history was desecrated by certain ex coaches but we saw the real West Ham way as David Moyes’ side ran Xabi Alonso’s invincibles close.

Stuart Pearce and Sam Allardyce gleefully dismissed “the West Ham way” on a podcast this week.

There is a myth that it’s about tika-taka football and competing with the elite.

But that only demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the club ethos which was cemented into West Ham’s history by the likes of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall.

In reality the West Ham way is exactly what David Moyes’ side produced against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League last night.

The valiant Hammers went at one of the best sides in world football and came agonisingly close to pulling off a night to remember.

Michail Antonio gave West Ham a deserved lead as Moyes’ side pressed from the front with high intensity.

MORE WEST HAM STORIES

That’s the real West Ham way

West Ham fans don’t expect trophies, European qualification or to win every week.

All Hammers supporters want is to see their team go at the opposition in every single game.

So when West Ham gave everything to do just that, the London Stadium crowd responded.

The deafening atmosphere was the best the “soulless bowl” has seen since Sevilla.

And it just shows what Hammers fans really want as their players exhibited the kind of bravery in and out of possession that truly embodies the West Ham way.

Just ask Craig Bellamy – one of the few who get it.

The maddening thing for supporters is that the performance and approach against Leverkusen is what they have been crying out for under the manager.

What Alonso said about West Ham will infuriate fans

So Xabi Alonso’s comments about West Ham will leave fans raging with Moyes.

The Spaniard held his hands up that his team – 43 games unbeaten all season – simply could not live with West Ham playing as they did with that high press and on the front-foot.

Alonso also noted how different Moyes’ tactics were from the first leg.

He conceded West Ham were so difficult to play against with their approach that he was forced to substitute his centre-back 30 minutes into the game and make two further changes at half-time.

So it begs the question why Moyes can’t get it through his head to condition his team to set them up like this every week.

Frankly it’s infuriating to hear Alonso admit how much his side struggled against a West Ham team taking the very approach fans have been yearning for so long.

This is what we’ve been crying out for

“To be honest they have done really well in the first 45 minutes, we had so many problems with their high pressing.

“We were not comfortable in our structure trying to find the free one, they were sometimes jumping to a double six and we were not able to find any flow…

“It meant some soft, easy lost balls around our box and the momentum from West Ham, they had the feeling that they had that and they score that goal.

“Yes to be honest the best team at half-time was clear in the result. Happily we had a reaction in the second half we have to change a few things… but the first 45 were not easy.

“It was tough for me (to take the defender off after 30 minutes) but sometimes you have to take action, to take responsibility, it’s not nice for a player to be substituted that early but he had the yellow card, we had problems with the build-up in that area…

“West Ham they have good players, good energy and credit to them, we found it really hard (because) they were totally different to what they did in Leverkusen.”