In a candid conversation with Ally McCoist and Gabriel Agbonlahor on talkSPORT, David Moyes peeled back the curtain on the adjustment period at our new home, the target of European football, and the key individuals driving the squad’s resurgence.
“Not That Far Away”: The European Dream
David Moyes remains optimistic about Everton’s prospects this season, insisting the team’s early form has given them a platform to push on in the race for European places despite some inconsistency along the way.
“Well I said right at the start, I said to the players we need to try and aim for it [Europe] and hope that it was possible. We got off to a pretty good start in the league and it’s given us something to hold on to. We’ve been up and down and probably just on the outside of European football if we’re honest but we’re not that far away that we couldn’t try and make a go of it.”
The “New Stadium” Effect
Everton’s campaign has become defined by a geographic riddle: they boast the fourth-best away record in the league while lagging in 14th at home.
David Moyes spoke candidly about the challenge of adapting to life at Everton’s new home. Comparing the intense, close-quarters atmosphere of Goodison Park with the scale of the club’s new surroundings, he suggested the adjustment period is something many teams experience after a stadium move. Upon being asked whether Everton have truly settled into Hill Dickinson Stadium, Moyes said;
“No, probably not. For whatever reason, if you look back, all the teams that move into a new stadium – I think just about them all have struggled in the first year back in – I don’t know if there’s a problem with that generally. You’ll [Ally McCoist/Gabriel Agbonlahor] all have played at Goodison, you’ll know what it’s like – the pressure, the tightness of the stadium, the crowd there. Suddenly, we’ve got a fantastic, big, new arena with new seats for all the supporters as well so there’s lots of things that factor in it. I actually think the away supporters coming to Hill Dickinson are loving it because obviously, coming to a new stadium, a chance to see it. So there’s a lot of things playing a little bit into a reason as to why but obviously we’ve got to get back and hopefully we can turn it around and I’m hoping before the end of the season we can turn some of them home games into wins if we can because we have some big games, a lot of the big teams to play yet.”
Squad Depth and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Addressing the squad’s health, David Moyes highlighted the importance of depth and the specific impact of key players returning from injury and international duty.
“It certainly is [looking strong], I have to say Jack [Grealish] was brilliant for us, early part of the season. He gave us lots of things we haven’t had and helped the team greatly, so we’ve missed him over the middle of December and January when we had a few injuries as well but probably no different to other clubs. We’re just beginning to find our feet a little bit again, and the players are beginning to step up. The boys who come back from AFCON have done much better recently and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall come back from injury and scoring again – the two centre forwards are just beginning to share some goals between them which has been helpful, that’s for sure”.
Moyes also reserved special praise for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whom he believes is knocking on the door of the England squad.
“He’s played really, really well. He’s made a huge difference to us. I mentioned Jack Grealish, Kiernan has made as big a difference as anybody. More importantly, we did say when we signed him to get goals, we wanted goals from midfield players – he’s played really well. He’s a very good footballer. I would have thought he wouldn’t be a million miles off the group of England players, it might just come a bit quick, the World Cup but who knows what happens after that? There’s usually a bit of a change. If he keeps doing as well as he’s been doing, he wont be too far away I don’t think”.
Tackling Modern Football: Set Pieces
Moyes defended the modern trend of dedicated set-piece coaching, arguing that in a league with “so little between so many teams,” utilising every small margin is essential.
Moyes: “Most clubs now have got set piece coaches. We’ve got people coming in trying to find small margins to make a difference. I have no problems with set pieces whatsoever. It’s always been part of football. There’s been much more detail into trying to score and defend from them. In years gone by, we used to go to Stoke and see Tony Pulus’ team and we’d all have to be prepared for it, so if you’re good at it why not use it. I don’t see why you wouldn’t find a way of winning and some teams are doing it but certainly the Premier League standard has risen so greatly and I think there’s so little between so many teams in the Premier League, obviously we’ve got two or three top teams who are infront of the others but there’s so little between the rest every small margin makes a big difference”.
On England’s Number One
On Jordan Pickford, Moyes expressed admiration for the goalkeeper’s distribution and temperament, noting he has evolved into a vital, experienced leader.
“He’s a really, really good goalkeeper. Very good, because he’s got good distribution as well. His agility you can see is excellent, his save the other day [vs Newcastle], I’m on the touchline thinking it’s in, the minute I saw Tonali strike it, there was nothing he could do differently he hit it so well. He’s got his moments, I have to tell him now and again. I think he’s better when he keeps himself, and certainly not getting caught up in the things he does and look, he’s an experienced player now. He must be close to 100 caps for England”.
