West Ham boss David Moyes appreciates Antonio Conte problems as he attempts to recover from gallbladder surgery.

Moyes says he admires Conte's decision to take time away from Tottenham over his health and believes the “strains of modern of management" are being exacerbated by the club game's crippling schedule.

On Sunday afternoon, Moyes will take his West Ham side to north London to meet a Spurs outfit led by assistant boss Cristian Stellini while Conte remains at home in Italy recovering from gallbladder surgery.

“Antonio has got to do it," Moyes said. “I was only off with Covid, and I could have still come down, but it would have been no good for me and the health of others.

“Sometimes being the boss, if you are not well or not in the right mood, it is better not being there at all, being big enough to step aside and do what's right."

Player welfare has been a particularly hot topic this season, with concerns over burnout and an increased risk of injury following the midseason World Cup.

“When you sign up to the job, we come back on July 1," Moyes said. “I hope our season doesn't finish until June 7 because that means we are in the Europa Conference League final. If that was the case, we have gone from July 1 to June 7 and you are asking a manager to go through that whole period without missing a day or not being in. Of course, we get a day off here and there but ultimately you are working every weekend, you are in a hotel every second weekend if you are away from home, so you do see the strains of modern of management come through.

“I did 11 years at one club [Everton] but I am not sure that managers will be able to do long, long stints at clubs because there are bigger stresses and health issues. Are they any different from before when it was Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger? Maybe not, but the number of games and with the way the programmes are going, it isn't getting any easier. If you look at it, we have had three years with nearly no break."