Soccer
David Moyes says he is not ready to retire from football management just yet, but insists he will choose his next move carefully.
Moyes has been appointed an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to football, with his total of 697 Premier League games as a manager only exceeded by Arsene Wenger (828) and Alex Ferguson (810).
The 61-year-old has overseen 1,150 matches across his career, starting out at Preston North End before making the move to the Premier League with Everton in 2002.
Moyes has also had spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and two separate stints at West Ham.
He has been out of management since his second stint at the Hammers came to an end in May, guiding West Ham to the Europa Conference League title in 2022-23.
Moyes won 103 of his 231 matches in charge of West Ham during his second spell (D45 L83), with his win percentage of 44.59%, a total only bettered during his time in charge of United (52.94%) and Preston (47.86%) across all competitions.
He has been linked with numerous jobs and fielded some approaches this season – but for now, is content to enjoy a break.
“I don’t consider myself done yet, but I am certainly enjoying some time off,” Moyes told BBC Sport.
“The one thing I won’t do is put any manager under pressure personally, because I don’t believe in it. I have not liked it when I have been in that position myself.
“We are all getting a little bit older and I have to make sure I am doing the right thing for myself.
“Football is in my blood. It has been since I was a boy. I love watching football and I have enjoyed my career.
“If there is another part to it, so be it. But I would only want it to be a good part. I wouldn’t want to be coming in and doing something which is very difficult.
“I don’t want to be at the bottom of the league and fighting relegation, which I have had a few times, so we will see how things go.”
David Moyes is not finished with football management just yet, but he’s looking for the right job. #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/4UFfqDRqXW
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 31, 2024
Moyes’ successor at West Ham, Julen Lopetegui, has endured a difficult few months at the helm, with the Hammers 13th in the Premier League table at the halfway stage.
Their latest defeat came at the hands of runaway leaders Liverpool, with Arne Slot’s side winning 5-0 to compound a miserable end to the year for West Ham.
The Hammers have conceded more Premier League goals in 2024 than any other side, with their 79 goals conceded their most in a single calendar year since 1967 (85).
West Ham’s recent run of form has called Lopetegui’s future at the London Stadium into question just six months after taking charge, a feeling Moyes knows all too well.
He was famously given a chance at one of England’s biggest clubs but lasted less than 10 months at Manchester United, with the Red Devils enduring a managerial merry-go-round since.
Since Moyes’ departure in 2014, the Red Devils have since had nine different managers, including interims, with new head coach Ruben Amorim under pressure early on.
Since Amorim’s first game in charge on November 24, only Southampton (seven) have lost more games in all competitions among Premier League clubs than United (six).
Their defeat to Newcastle United on Monday will see the Red Devils end the year in 14th, their lowest position at the turn of a year in the league since 1989.
However, Moyes resisted the idea that Amorim should find himself under pressure after only 11 games in charge in all competitions.
“To say to a manager ‘We are giving you six months or a year in the job to see how you do’, I don’t think that is correct,” Moyes said.
“I think the people who put managers in place have to stand by their judgement, keep their managers and give them a chance to do the job.
“Let’s be fair, Manchester United in some ways is a one-off.
“The pressure you are under at Manchester United is greater than it is at most clubs. When you are in that role, you have to accept that is how it is going to be.
“But it is not the manager’s fault at the moment. The manager is still finding his way and trying to tiptoe into the job.”
6 – Manchester United have lost six games in December, their most in a single month since September 1930 (7). Concerning. pic.twitter.com/cApZFtaubw
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2024
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