£69,000-a-week player admits he is actually banned from long shots at West Ham

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Michail Antonio has now revealed that David Moyes has banned him from a certain type of shooting at West Ham.

The 33-year-old made the comments when speaking on Sky Sports.

So, what did Michail Antonio say? Let’s take a look…

What Michail Antonio is banned from doing

Well, the Jamaica international revealed that he is not allowed to shoot from outside of the box at West Ham.

Antonio said: “What I did at Forest, the confidence I had, 15 goals, 15 assists. What I was doing that year was unbelievable, to the point where I shocked myself.

“I was playing left wing at the time. I was beating four or five men and just putting it in the top corner, week in and week out. At West Ham, I’m told not to shoot from outside the box. At Nottingham Forest, all I was doing was scoring from outside the box.”

In fairness to Moyes, Antonio rarely tests the opposition with a long range shot nowadays – regardless of what he did in his time at the City Ground.

In truth, it seems like a lot of Premier League footballers have been told not to shoot from long distance in the modern era, with most appearing to overplay in the final third.

West Ham advice is wise

Antonio – who also said he was shocked by the signing of Kalvin Phillips – should listen to Moyes.

The West Ham No.9 must consider how he can stretch out his career – rather than reminisce over his days at Nottingham Forest – and moving away from distance shooting would be a good start.

Fewer long shots will hopefully make the man from Wandsworth more of a penalty box forward going into the latter stages of his thirties, while playing the game more with his mind rather than relying on physical qualities could also help him avoid the injuries he has been picking up lately.

If Antonio can remodel his game from the Nottingham Forest version of himself, the £69,000-a-week man could still torment defenders for years to come.