Up next
Why Was ‘Scorpion’ Cancelled?
- Moyes says he had a ‘lot of close calls’ on returns to Everton down the years
- He insisted to his first-team stars that they would rise above relegation battles
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Why Manchester United may have to sell Kobbie Mainoo or Alejandro Garnacho
David Moyes says he always wanted to return to Everton – and despite weighing up retiring from management, knew a comeback was an offer he could not refuse.
The Scotsman, 61, replaced Sean Dyche in the Goodison Park hotseat last week and has revealed he came within inches of returning several times only for it to fall through.
But Moyes, who has spoken to Dyche about the job and the squad, is now back at the club which he holds in his heart and said on Monday: ‘I always had a hope and inkling that someone would get me back. I wanted to come back.
‘I had agreed with (former owner) Farhad Moshiri and (late chairman) Bill Kenwright that I was going to be the manager in 2019, then Carlo (Ancelotti) got sacked that night at Napoli. They changed their mind the next morning! I had a lot of close calls.
‘I think if people looked at David Moyes’s career they would probably think “Everton”. It was a long time ago (first arrival) and it’s a different David Moyes who’s coming back to Everton… but it’s also a completely different Everton that David Moyes is coming back to.’
Moyes looked the part in a smart suit but despite his formal appearance, was laid back and joked there were ‘too many old faces – mine included’ in the room at Finch Farm. He said he was ‘nervous’ driving in for his first day of training but is raring to go again.
David Moyes says he has always wanted to return to Everton and that it has fallen through in the past
He rejoins the Toffees 12 years after he left to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United
This time, he is a ‘different David Moyes’ after experiences at Old Trafford, Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and West Ham
‘I’ve had other opportunities to consider other jobs, quite a few since I’ve left West Ham,’ he said. ‘But I always felt that if this job came up – and I didn’t expect the job to come up, I really didn’t – it was just too big an opportunity to turn down.
‘The club now needs steering in the right direction, putting in a place where you’re not fighting at the bottom all the time. I told the players, “I’m not coming here to manage a team at the bottom of the league. I’m going to manage a team that’s going to be fighting and challenging”.
‘Part of it is, “You players had better turn up”. I’ve got no doubt the crowd, the people, Goodison, will all play a part. The players have to play their part now and they have to show they can handle it.’
Moyes will take charge of his 519th Everton game on Wednesday against Aston Villa at Goodison. And he added: ‘I’d had a message asking me to come to a game before the end of the season with my dad. I thought it would be brilliant to get back to Goodison before (the stadium move).
‘You have to remember my family was so embedded in Everton. My kids were young, my dad was drinking with all the boys in the street! Leaving was terrible because we were really close after 11 years.
‘Now I’ve got the chance to manage here again. I’ve just got to make sure that when we walk out of Goodison and lock the door for the final time, we can all walk down to the new stadium in the right position.’
