Moyes: United biggest club in the world

David Moyes has reflected on how it feels for rival teams coming to Old Trafford, claiming he just hoped to get out of the ground alive when he was Everton manager.

“You came to somewhere that was always full and you knew you were playing, certainly the biggest club in England and arguably the biggest club in the world,” he said. “So from that point of view you knew that it was also a daunting challenge. Anybody who went there it was like: ‘Oh no, we’re going to Manchester United’. I remember going there as a manager. You want to get out of Old Trafford alive, that used to be our saying, you know.”

People used to explain United’s incredible ability to win games in injury time on Sir Alex Ferguson’s control over the officials, rather than crediting the players (and manager) with a brilliant desire to win and not know they were beaten. Moyes is pondering the idea of “Moyes’ time”.

“Maybe if I’m at Manchester United for 26 years I’ll be able to control it as much as Sir Alex!” he joked. “But at the moment I still see myself as one of the young coaches and young managers in the Premier League. I don’t see myself as one of the old ones. So I think I’ve got a few more years before I get that level of control.”