Dubai: David Moyes will need to make his mark on West Ham as quickly as possible if they are to avoid relegation this season, according to former Hammer’s midfielder Frank Lampard.

The former Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland coach, was appointed as Slaven Bilic’s replacement on Tuesday, after Bilic was sacked following a 4-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Saturday.

“It’s a tough job and it remains to be seen,” said Lampard, when asked by Gulf News how he thought Moyes would fare as coach, on the sidelines of the nanoM sports health clinic opening on Palm Jumeirah on Tuesday.

“They are in a difficult place, I was there at the weekend and something felt really bad about West Ham, the performance obviously, but also the feeling and the atmosphere, so maybe change was inevitable.

“I’m sure it was, but Moyes has to get his imprint on the team very quickly and get an upturn, because the performance that they put up the other day will keep them in a relegation battle for sure. So, the players will need a lift and maybe they need to spend some more money in January,” added the former West Ham player, who scored 39 in 187 appearances for the club between 1995 and 2001.

Lampard also paid homage to former New York City teammate Andrea Pirlo, who announced his retirement this week at the age of 38.

“He was a fantastic player and I loved him from afar, to watch him and play against him a few times as I did.

“He was one of the classiest players of his generation and will go down as one of the greatest midfielders. He played in a way that I don’t think anyone else did and to link up with him and play with him (in New York) and see him first hand in close quarters, his pass appreciation and receiving of the ball … he had something that most don’t have in terms of ability.

“And he was a classy man off the pitch as well, so we should all applaud an incredible career,” he added of the Italian 2006 World Cup winner.

With England having lifted both the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups this year, Lampard, who also played over 100 games for the Three Lions, was also asked whether youth team players might filter into next year’s senior World Cup squad.

“I would be surprised if the youth hits that quickly; we’ve got a young squad anyway with impressive players like Kane and Alli. In terms of the Under-17 and Under-20s, they’ve got a long way to go and this is not me being pessimistic, I’m actually being very optimistic. I hope they get footsteps into their first teams and in the next three to five years, we’re talking about them as a batch of young players coming through, but it will take time and we shouldn’t get carried away. There are steps for those lads to take and it will take a while, if we can have three to six of those players in England’s first team in a few years’ time, we’ll be very happy.”