Declan Rice reveals secret he hid from David Moyes

 

Declan Rice has revealed he is rubbish at penalties  and kept it a secret from West Ham boss David Moyes.

Rice scored his first goal of the season from the spot after fighting off Jesse Lingard in Monday’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United.

But the England midfielder, who was the designated taker, couldn’t even remember the last penalty he took – after missing so many as a youngster.

Rice said: “I’m just happy I scored because in my Academy days I think I missed every one, so to be on one and score was a real buzz!

“Actually, I’ll tell you a little story! When I was in the Academy, we used to go to tournaments and we used to get to finals and, no lie, I’ve had three penalties to win three different tournaments and missed every time.”

Asked whether he had told Moyes that before being put on pens for the Hammers, Rice said: “No! But now it’s about composing myself and visualising it and practising them in training.

“Obviously when Nobes is on the pitch, he takes them, but I need to be ready as if you don’t practice them and have the mentality that you’re going to hit the back of the net then you aren’t going to score.

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Rice and Lingard exchanged words before the Manchester United loanee finally let Rice score from the spot.

But Rice later shared a video to his social media of the pair joking about the incident in the bath.

Club captain Mark Noble usually takes the penalties for West Ham, and Moyes revealed after the game that Rice may not be on them for long.