Former Everton manager David Moyes has called his time at Manchester United as the most regrettable and unsuccessful period of his managing career.
Moyes departed Everton to take over as head coach from Sir Alex Ferguson in July 2013, after the legendary Ferguson announced his retirement.
Moyes won the Community Shield with a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in his first competitive match as manager, but the season ended poorly.
Under Moyes, United had their worst start to a Premier League season, finishing in seventh position with 57 points from 34 games, 13 points behind a Champions League spot. He was fired in April 2014.
Speaking on William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan (Via Mirror) Moyes said: “My time at Manchester United was a failure. If I’ve got any regrets in my career, it’s taking one of the biggest jobs in world football and not being able to make it work. When it’s my time to retire, that’ll always be my biggest regret.
“I found it really difficult when I lost the Manchester United job, there were so many stories that came out that were untrue – and I couldn’t stop them. I think the setup I went into that job with, was a setup that was successful at Everton. I was trying not to change Sir Alex Ferguson’s system.
“At the time, the values at Manchester United were brilliant. It was all about supporting the manager, they brought young players through – they were all the correct things – and I went in there thinking that it was going to suit me.
“The owners were saying to me that they’d been given a lot of criticism but that I was to take my time and there was no hurry. When the wheels started coming off, I felt huge pressure. I thought that a lot of the criticism I was receiving was unfair.”
“In terms of the signings I wanted, we had a terrible window,” said Moyes. “I spoke to Cesc and he’d been out of the team at Barcelona, so he agreed that if he wasn’t in the team for their first game of the season then he’d come to United. He was going to be the big signing.
“The other player I wanted was Gareth Bale. United always had great wide players like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, so I thought he would fit. We made the bigger offer to Tottenham and to the player, we had a helicopter waiting for him, but he had his heart set on Real Madrid.”
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
