West Ham manager David Moyes says he's "amazed" that Watford sacked Nigel Pearson, who he feels was a contender to be named manager of the year. 

The Hornets were seven-points adrift of safety when the ex Leicester boss took over in December but he was removed from his position following last Friday's 3-1 defeat to West Ham.

“I was amazed that Watford have done what they’ve done," Moyes said of the Watford boards' decision to sack Pearson, which was made with only two games remaining this season.

“If Watford had stayed up – and I think they’ve still got a great chance of staying up – he could easily have been recommended for manager of the year, with the position they were in when he took over.

“So I don’t know what else they expected. He took over in a real difficult position and to get them to a position of safety, I find that really tough on him."

Moyes added he's looking forward to taking on his former side Manchester United tomorrow evening:

“It’s a wonderful club, a brilliant place to be, the biggest club in the world for me, for what it stands for, and I look forward to going back.

“It’s not an easy place to go, I don’t think anyone expects it to be but we will go up there and hopefully give it a right good go.”