David Moyes is one of the most respected figures in English football. In his stellar career in management, Moyes has been in charge for 1,169 games at Preston North End, Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham, where he won the club’s first trophy for 43 years in 2023.
The Premier League manager of the month 11 times, he’s managed more games in England’s top-flight than any other current manager. Not to mention, he played 540 games as a defender before becoming a manager.
The National sat down with Everton’s Glaswegian manager recently in Chicago during the club’s pre-season tour.
How are you feeling going into the new season?
Well, we finished last season positively. Not better than we expected, but probably better than we hoped. When I took over [in January 2025], relegation was the word which was kicking around, so we’ve sort of done a good job in getting rid of that.
What did you do?
The players made a great reaction. Everton had difficult seasons and last year was the sign of the last difficult period coming to an end.
And into a bright future with Everton about to move into a new stadium?
That excites me in many ways, but you know what it’s like when you move to new stadium. You also get worried about how quickly it will take to feel like home. We had a compactness at Goodison, we had an atmosphere.
Nowadays the players get to play in so many good stadiums all around the world – almost every stadium you go to. Coming to Goodison was different and difficult for visitors but for us being the home team it helped. We need to create that same feeling at the new stadium.
I’ve got to say for Evertonians it’s been something they’ve been waiting on for a long time. The stadium is stunning. It’s on the water [by the river Mersey], it looks good and if we can take the atmosphere which we had at Goodison and transfer it, I’ll be happy.
And there’s demand for it.
It holds just short of 53,000 and I think we’ve sold all the season tickets with another 20,000 waiting to try to get season tickets. That give the club more revenue and it’s modern which was something which was certainly needed at Goodison, probably more than anything.
How’s your relationship with Evertonians? I’ve just seen a couple of fans in Chicago and asked them about you; they’re loving you. There are times when it wasn’t like that.
When I left and went to United (in 2013), it was probably quite difficult. But, you know, folks forget I’d done 11 years at Everton and possibly it was time to change for both parties. And they gave me an unbelievable send-off at Everton when I was leaving.
But if Evertonians look back, they’ll probably say that the teams I managed were some of the best they’d seen in a long time. We had European trips, we were challenging the top teams, we were challenging Liverpool and we finished above Liverpool in my last two years in charge. We were competitive in all the competitions.
How have you changed as a manager? Has the experience of being at several different clubs made you a better manager, a better person? Do you still love football the same?
I love football, though I can get fed up with parts of it: some of the new rules and a lot of extra off-the-field commitments, but, you know, the world’s moving on. If you’re from a certain era then you don’t see that as being why we’re there.
Our job is to try to get the best results we can for the team, not necessarily to give everything to the media, to talk about every action and every moment, but I’ve changed because I’ve probably mellowed in many ways. I’ve got more experience from coaching at different clubs. I’m better for it.
What would your wife say about you?
She’d probably say that she wanted me to keep working. She didn’t want me in the house. I think that was obvious. When I don’t work, I upset her coffee mornings and different things.
When I left West Ham I wasn’t disappointed because it was probably the right time for both parties to leave, but it was a great time at West Ham. We built a good side; we won a European trophy.
And you did let the cameras in the dressing room after that trophy, because they caught you dancing …
I’d like to say on the record that I’m yet to be invited on to Strictly Come Dancing. Maybe they know I’d be knocked out in the early rounds. But overall, I didn’t really care because winning a trophy puts you in a different light as a coach.
It’s not just trophies though. I see myself as having longevity, especially in the Premier League. Think of the top managers that have come to the Premier League and some haven’t stayed that long for different reasons. But I’m only behind Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger for games managed in the Premier League. I’m still going.
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