David Moyes out to look past ‘memories’ and lead West Ham to Premier League victory over old club Everton

Scot managed the Toffees for 11 years before leaving to take over at Man United in 2013

(Getty Images)

David Moyes has insisted he will do everything necessary to ensure West Ham emerge victorious when they take on his old club Everton in the Premier League this evening, while admitting he will always remember his time at Goodison Park fondly.

Moyes was Everton coach for 11 years and led the Toffees to a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League in 2005, as well as the 2009 FA Cup final. He left for Manchester United in 2013, before jobs at Real Sociedad and Sunderland preceded his first spell at West Ham.

That spell ran from 2017 until 2018, with the 57-year-old returning last year. And, ahead of his current side’s trip to Goodison Park, the Scot confessed he still feels something when he returns to Everton’s ground.

“Well, I do because I think to manage any club for 11-and-a-half years, I mean I don’t know how often it will happen going forward in the future that managers will get the chance to do 11-and-a-half years at one club.

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“But, you know, my club is now West Ham. I’m going to Goodison to win for West Ham now, that’s my job. I’ll do everything I possibly can to do it.

“But they’ll never take away my memories, and probably the biggest is the players I had through my time there. Great players, great to work with, really good characters, and I enjoyed my time very much.”

Moyes has passed the one-year mark during his second spell in charge at the London Stadium and, after being brought in to avoid relegation last season, West Ham currently sit 10th in the Premier League table.

Everton will be without fans after Liverpool was moved from tier two to tier three of the government’s coronavirus restrictions from Thursday, but the Hammers boss still expects a difficult game.

“It’s a really tough game at Goodison, it always has been. Over the years, Goodison has never been an easy place for any team to go and win.

“I really enjoyed having that behind me when I was there. They’ve got an exciting team, they’ve spent an awful lot of money in recent years, the owners have certainly backed the managers and given them the opportunity to bring in the players they want.

“So that’s why I think Everton will now try to compete at the top end, so it’ll be a really tough game for us.”

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PA