David Moyes has shunned suggestions that he will be gripped by nostalgia when Manchester United welcome Everton on Wednesday evening.
Moyes guided the Toffees through eleven Premier League seasons between 2002 and May of this year, consistently finishing in the top-ten despite having one of the lowest budgets in the league and in 2009 took them to their first FA Cup final since 1995.
However, while the Scot reflects fondly on his time at Goodison Park, he is determined to show that his loyalty lies with his new club.
“All I know is that I’m manager of Manchester United,” he said.
“I’ve got great respect for Everton, their chairman, their players and their supporters, but from my point of view I’m Manchester United manager now and I don’t think they’d expect anything different.
“I’m not an emotional person and, in truth, I’d rather just get on with the game.”
In some respects meeting a former club can serve as an advantage, as the manager has first-hand knowledge of players that remain from his time there, but Moyes insisted that this will not be the case tomorrow night.
“I do know a lot of them [the players]. In fact, I probably brought all of them into Goodison, except the recent ones. They’re all really good players and I’ve got a lot to thank them for because they helped me to win games,” he said.
“But I don’t think it’s any advantage that I know the players. They have a new manager there and he’s brought in his own players as well.”
United have drawn their past two league games 2-2 and have lacked the killer edge needed to finish games as the void created by Robin van Persie’s absence becomes increasingly apparent, but the team could be bolstered by the return of the free-scoring Dutchman.
“The job is to keep it going, keep winning and keep on a good run of form,” Moyes said defiantly, before updating the conference on the Van Persie situation.
“Robin is okay. He has a chance of playing.”
United have not lost to Everton at Old Trafford since a 3-0 capitulation in 1992, but will have fresh memories of the Toffees rescuing a point from 4-2 down with ten minutes to play in the closing stages of the 2011-12 campaign.
In that match Everton came back to draw 4-4, which effectively wrenched the title from United’s hands as fierce rivals Manchester City went on to snatch the league crown on goal difference.
Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney are also set to play against their former club, and with the most recent goalless draw between the two sides back in 2004 and 27 goals in their last 10 league meetings it is primed to be an intriguing encounter.
Image courtesy of Prime7 via Youtube, with thanks
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