West Ham manager David Moyes on Michail Antonio, Declan Rice and what makes UEFA Europa Conference League finalists West Ham special – interview

Celebrated for a long spell in charge of Everton, and best known worldwide for being Sir Alex Ferguson's chosen successor at Manchester United, David Moyes has had a long and illustrious managerial career, but has reached a whole new level at West Ham.

Having taken the Hammers to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last season, the Scotsman is preparing to lead a side into a major continental final for the first time as they take on Fiorentina in the UEFA Europa Conference League decider in Prague. As the 60-year-old tells UEFA.com, it is not an experience that he or any of his players are taking for granted.

On reaching the final after Europa League semi-final disappointment in 2021/22

It has sunk in. When you hear that you're going to a European final, I'm thinking, wow! It's a fantastic thing for any manager. [Last season], we came up against some really strong teams, and if I'm honest I think we were probably in a better moment as a team as well. We played very really well last year and we lost to a really good team in Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final, who went on to win it.

So this year we've probably brought in more players and so we've had a stronger squad to use. I wouldn't say we've been through the stages quite easily, but we've won the games. Us having a slightly stronger squad this year has given us the ability to probably get a little further in the competition.

On forward Michail Antonio

When I came back to the club [for a second spell in 2019], Mick had played in several different positions. A couple of years earlier when I was at West Ham we used Marko Arnautović as a centre forward; he was a wide player and we moved him to centre forward and he did incredibly for us. So when we came back, we looked at Mick and we did the same, and he's blossomed.

He's been hugely important for us over the last few years. He's a reference for us up front. He's got power, he's got pace. He's got half-a-dozen goals in this year's European competition, so he's been someone who's hugely important to me and from that point of view, he's been an excellent centre forward and we've enjoyed working with him.

On Declan Rice

He's a regular for England, he's played at the EURO for England, he's been to a World Cup. He took over from Mark Noble [who had] been the club captain here, and [had] been here since he was a boy. It was a huge, huge position to take up, and not an easy one. [Declan Rice has been] doing a really good job for a young boy [of 24]; the captain of a club this size, but more importantly his form, his play has been excellent.

He's matured into a really good midfield player. He can play several different ways. He's gained great experience with the players of England and working with Gareth Southgate as well, so he's a boy who's got a great future ahead of him.

On what makes West Ham special

I come from Glasgow, and there are a lot of similarities. The East End of London is a tough place; it's probably not the wealthiest part of London, that's for sure.

West Ham is a really big, traditional English football club. Great history. Bobby Moore captained England to the World Cup – the only time they won the World Cup, it was a West Ham captain, and legend here as well.

We've moved stadiums; we're [now at the London] Stadium, a fantastic new 62,000-65,000 seater stadium. It has encouraged so many new young supporters to come to the club. And the club is moving on greatly, lots of things are happening behind the scenes.