David Moyes reveals he was ‘very close’ to re-joining Everton before taking his second chance at West Ham… and admits he was hurt and ‘surprised’ at being sacked first time round
- David Moyes has revealed he was ‘very close’ to re-joining Everton as manager
- Instead the Scot returned to West Ham where he has overseen a big turnaround
- Moyes also admitted he was ‘surprised’ and hurt when West Ham first fired him
David Moyes has revealed he was ‘very, very close’ to returning to Goodison Park as Everton manager before taking the job once again at West Ham.
The 58-year-old said in an interview with The Athletic that he was weighing up his options for a return to the Premier League and strongly considered coming back to the blue half of Merseyside.
Moyes made his name in the 11 years he spent at Everton, with his stock so high that he went on to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, a move that ended in disaster when he was sacked after less than a year.
David Moyes revealed he was ‘very close’ to re-joining Everton before returning to West Ham
Moyes (centre) spent 11 years at Goodison Park and made his reputation on Merseyside
However, the Scot has experienced a glorious revival in his second stint at West Ham at a time when he was in danger of becoming a has-been of top-flight football management.
After poor campaigns in charge of Sunderland and Real Sociedad, Moyes was sacked during his first time at the Hammers in May 2018.
His return to east London just 18 months later was not warmly greeted by fans, but under his second tenure West Ham find themselves seventh in the Premier League and in the scrap for a Champions League place.
The Hammers are also enjoying a remarkable run in the Europa League, which has seen them reach the quarter-finals after beating serial tournament winners Sevilla in the previous round.
Moyes has overseen a revival at West Ham, with the club sitting seventh in the Premier League
While having been tempted with a return to Goodison, Moyes said he was delighted with his re-appointment at West Ham.
‘It has been a great move for me and I’m really enjoying it — a great group of players, a really good club with huge potential,’ he said.
‘I’m so glad I was given a second chance at West Ham because the first time I was here they didn’t keep me.’
However, when asked whether he was hurt by the West Ham board’s decision to fire him first time round and hire Manuel Pellegrini, Moyes admitted he was.
The Hammers are also through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League after beating Sevilla
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I actually thought we’d done a decent job. We’d done enough and I’d started to make plans to prep for the new season and all the things that were going on, so I was surprised — I’ve got to say — that we didn’t.
‘But I had no problem with David Sullivan when he picked up the phone and said to me about coming back. I had no problem at all. He was big enough to do that.
‘He never said he made a mistake (laughs) but he was big enough to come back to me and I’ve got to say it’s been a really good chance for me and I’ve been grateful for the opportunity.’
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