"I'm not coming back here to fight relegation with the club," David Moyes said on the day he signed for Everton, just days after Sean Dyche was sacked. The Toffees are currently 16th in the Premier League after 20 games and are just one point above the relegation zone. Therefore, the urgent thing now is to stay up, but it seems that Moyes doesn't think so.
However, looking back 23 years ago, when he first led Everton in 2002, the Scottish strategist also had the task of keeping the Merseyside team in the relegation zone. Everton in the past few years have had to fight very hard to stay in the relegation zone, many times escaping at the last minute and this season seems to be no exception as it has passed the halfway mark.
When returning to the place where he made his name, Moyes did not say too many flowery or emotional words, he immediately focused on the things that had to be done. At 61, Moyes' time on the top coaching bench was running out, and the same was true for Everton. When asked if there would be new players at Goodison Park in this winter transfer window, Moyes said it was not impossible despite the club's financial difficulties.
"That's absolutely possible. If I can bring something to the fans like a new player, for example, I will do it. Although I know that it's not easy to get that at this time when the team has been and is going through a very difficult period.
However, my job at the moment is not to complain about difficulties. The team needs more support from the fans when they come to the stadium. Goodison Park has always been a great stadium and it needs the presence of elite players."
Some people think that David Moyes knows Everton so well that he doesn't need to do too many interviews on his debut day. However, the veteran strategist said that both he and the club are now in a different version so everything needs to be reoriented.
Moyes said he will gradually regain Everton's playing style, but the urgent thing now is to win, to win to decide his own fate before thinking about bigger issues.
"I told the players, I'm not coming back to lead a club that plays with the mentality of only worrying about relegation. I will bring Everton back to the image of a competitive team and challenge all opponents.
"If the players have any outstanding qualities, they must show them right now. Goodison Park will be a very fierce arena and the players must have the best performance" - Moyes encouraged.
When he officially returned, Moyes revealed that in the past decade, he almost reunited with Everton three times. The most recent time was in 2019 when Carlo Ancelotti was fired. The Scottish strategist said that if anyone wanted to evaluate his career, the time he spent with Everton before and now would be the most accurate measure.
"I hope to be able to rebuild the club. I'm excited to think about everything going well and getting into the new stadium.
"When I first came here, I was a young manager hoping things would go well. Now I'm older and wiser. So I know what I have to do is the right thing," Moyes said.
