David Moyes has admitted that the offer to return to Everton after almost eight months away from football came as a complete surprise.
The 61-year-old was appointed on Saturday morning, less than 48 hours after the relegation-threatened Premier League side announced his appointment. The end of Sean Dyche's two-year reign.
In his first candid press conference the day after his squad meeting, Moyes revealed the negotiation timeline, how he overcame his nerves and what he actually said to striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Here are six key topics discussed by Moyes as he prepares for his first home game against an Aston Villa side who are 15 points clear of Everton in the table on Wednesday (7:30pm GMT).
2002 ⏩ 2025 pic.twitter.com/a74o9M8Ldz
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
Moyes to Everton: Friedkin's group acted quickly
The Friedkin Group completed its long-awaited deal to take over Everton on December 19, putting chairman and CEO Dan Friedkin and the club's new chief executive, Mark Watts, in a position to make big decisions.
Among the first of these was the sacking of Dyche, who previously said Watts had shown “nothing but support” for him during an “informal” meeting at the club’s Finch Farm training ground shortly after the takeover.
“It was really quick,” Moyes said of the initial contact with Everton, adding that he heard from them for the first time on “Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“I got a call telling me there was a chance there could be a change. I had a few conversations with Dan and Mark, and that's where the conversations really took off.
David Moyes discusses his coaching staff, with Leighton Baines' move confirmed #EFCU18 To join his training team. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/4K6P4xdLLM
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
“Until that moment, I had no idea. I thought Sean was doing a really good job and I didn't see any changes coming at the time.
“They are in America and I am here, so the conversations were mainly through video calls. I received two Americans (on Monday).”
Everton is a 'different beast' – and Moyes has held previous talks
After receiving an OBE in the new year Moyes said he was open to returning to football But he does not “want to be at the bottom of the fight against relegation.”
“The truth is, I wasn't necessarily looking to come back,” said the man who made his name during 11 years at the club, guiding them to eight top-seven finishes – including a fourth-place finish in the 2004/05 season – along with four European appearances. And the 2008/09 FA Cup Final.
“Goodison will help.” pic.twitter.com/lp7mZ7htYW
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
“As everyone knows, this is a different beast for me to a lot of other clubs. Everton is different. I've had a few more opportunities to think about other jobs since I left West Ham (in May).
“I wasn't really expecting the job to come – I didn't see it. But when I was asked, the chance of rejection was very high.”
After leaving Everton for the first time, Moyes briefly succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson in an ill-fated spell with Manchester United in 2013/14, eventually rebuilding his reputation over two spells with the Hammers between 2017 and 2024.
Everton never finished lower than 12th and entered the top 10 five times in the first eight seasons after Moyes' departure, but narrowly avoided relegation in each of the last two seasons, as well as deducting a total of eight points on the latest financial rules. season.
◀️ David Moyes says Armando Broga will undergo another scan on the ankle injury he suffered during our FA Cup win over Peterborough. pic.twitter.com/TxICoB7DxK
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
“I came very close to coming back on three or four occasions,” Moyes revealed, noting that his second spell at West Ham produced a first European title since 1965 in the 2022-23 Conference League format.
“I've had conversations at different times and different periods in my career. This is football, and I have no problem with that at all.”
Moyes feels 'huge pressure'
With 19 league games played, Everton have three wins and are one point clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand to the teams below them.
Only Southampton, bottom of the table, have fewer wins, and the Saints are the only team in the top flight to have a worse goal tally than Everton's 15 goals, five fewer than second-placed Ipswich Town.
“For two weeks, I didn't think there was any chance of Everton getting into the relegation battle,” Moyes said. “I thought they would be strong enough to come out of it.
◀️ David Moyes confirms that Dominic Calvert-Lewin trained this morning, but Dwight McNeil will miss the Aston Villa match as he continues to recover from a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/OCb7dbwULX
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
“I've come into the bench now and I'll back myself on that, saying we'll be strong enough to get away from it. We need the players to play better and score more goals if we want to achieve that.
“I will try to stabilize it and take the club in a different direction and make it better. I see it as a lot of pressure.
“I can only remember that we always felt like a team that was always challenging the top teams and trying to be in Europe.
“I did it very quickly here and at West Ham, so my idea is to try to do everything as quickly as possible, because I will not be here for 11 years, as I was before.”
Moyes said he felt “very nervous” upon returning to Finch Farm. “I haven't been back since the day I left,” he said, though his recollection of some of the high-profile names waiting for him when he took office in 2002, when he was 38, gave him an element of distinction. Reassuring context.
“On the first day, when I came in, I had to go into the dressing room with David Ginola, Paul Gascoigne, Duncan Ferguson and Tommy Graveson. Being a really young coach, I said: 'Oh my God, they won't even know who I am.'
president. 💙 pic.twitter.com/AF5hzDWF0o
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
Everton transfers: 'elite' signings and contract talks
Former England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, midfielders Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure, and captain Seamus Coleman are among the players whose contracts expire at the end of this season.
Moyes will also be able to evaluate some of the players Dyche signed over the summer, including Tim Eroegbunam, Eliman Ndiaye, Jake O'Brien and loan players such as Orel Mangala and Jack Harrison, as he plans to stay and have a stronger season in Everton's first campaign. season at their new stadium, which has a capacity of 528,888,888 spectators Bramley Moor Dock.
“The stadium looks like the business world, it looks elite,” he said. “We need to start bringing in some elite players and start looking at the level of players (so) we can give everyone something to shout about at the new stadium.
“I need to convince the players and tell them that we need them. There are 11 players out of contract and that is something we have to (deal with).
“I need a lot of these players to show that they are ready to help us and not think about other things. There is a chance for freshness.”
Back with the blues. 💙 pic.twitter.com/8shgHOcczE
– Everton (@Everton) January 13, 2025
What Moyes said to Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin He top-scored for Everton in 2019/20 and 2020/21, but the injury-plagued 27-year-old scored as many goals in the latter of those seasons as he has in the four seasons since, including just two so far in the year. 2024. /25.
Despite featuring in every league game and starting 16 times, Calvert-Lewin has gone 15 games without a goal, although a run of four goals in five games in April and May showed that the 2020/21 Player of the Year still has the ability. To achieve this. produces.
“We all feel he can make a big difference,” Moyes said. “If he gets his goalscoring boots back on, it will be a huge help for the Everton boys and the manager as well.
“We will give him as much confidence and help as we can, but then you need the player to stand up and do his job. I told him I need goals from him immediately and he needs to start getting goals.”
And the story continues… 🔵 pic.twitter.com/c6hK3wjY4w
– Everton (@Everton) January 11, 2025
Moyes supports owners – but remains 'worried'
The Friedkins family's takeover of Everton has put 10 of the 20 Premier League clubs in American hands, and Moyes also noted that American investors are becoming increasingly involved in EFL clubs.
The Scottish coach appeared optimistic about working under the group, which also owns Italian giants Roma, as they were not afraid to sack senior managers including Jose Mourinho and Daniele De Rossi.
When he left the Serie A team in January 2023, Mourinho – He is briefly associated with the vacancy left by Daichi “He doesn't understand football,” Dan Friedkin said.
Moyes commented on his conversations with the duo, saying: “Dan and Mark were very good.” “A lot of Evertonians should be happy. They seem to be moving in the right direction.
“You can never know how managers will do, managers can never know what owners will do. I've found the conversations good – they want to get us back on track and we need a bit of plaster at the moment.
“Who doesn't care about the owners? All the managers. We have a huge influx of American owners in the Premier League, so we have to get to know their cultures and what they expect.
