David Moyes defended selecting a weakened team and launched into a frustrated rant after West Ham’s 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool.
Moyes, like opposite number Jurgen Klopp, made six changes to his team and did not lay a glove on Liverpool.
It prompted supporters to criticise his tactics, with some in the away end booing at half-time and many leaving before the final whistle.
But the Hammers boss defended his choices.
Asked if his selection had left him open to criticism, Moyes replied: ‘It’s a pretty cheap question to ask.
David Moyes launched into a frustrated rant after West Ham crashed out of the Carabao Cup
A much-changed West Ham were thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night
‘We have had the quickest turnaround of any team in the Premier League. The only teams who have played more in the last few years are Liverpool and Manchester City.
‘I don’t rotate very often. Tonight was about how good Liverpool were. If you’re going to talk about rotation, talk about the amount of games we’ve played.
‘I’ve been here lots of times, been beaten lots of times, but tonight I thought, “My goodness, how many more will they get?”
‘We’ve won seven out of the last nine. Don’t forget how well we’ve been doing. What do you expect from West Ham? Would you expect us to win a European trophy? Be challenging for the Champions League? We’ve been doing well for what we are. We keep trying to win the games, to challenge the top teams, and we will try to win cups when we get the opportunity. ‘Tonight was a tough game for us.’
Klopp asked Liverpool’s fans to improve the atmosphere, with Anfield feeling flat of late.
‘I was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind me,’ the Reds manager said. ‘I was like, “What do you want?”
‘We changed the team a lot and dominated West Ham. If I had been in the crowd, I would have been on my toes.
‘On Saturday (against Arsenal), we need Anfield to be on its toes from the first second.
‘We need you. If it’s too much football in December, sorry.’