Everton will be looking to rise like Aston Villa have under V Sports since returning to the Premier League
Everton manager David Moyes
Everton manager David Moyes(Image: Getty Images)
David Moyes admits Aston Villa’s rise to competing at the top end of the Premier League serves as something of an inspiration for Everton.
The Toffees will host Villa at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday - their second Premier League fixture at their new 52,000-seater home.
Under Moyes, Everton have stabilised after several seasons of flirting with relegation and are now looking upward, having recruited the likes of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Tyler Dibling over the summer.
For a number of reasons, there's a feel-good factor around Everton at the moment - but nothing boosts morale more than results.
Since the start of May, no side has earned more Premier League points than Everton, and only Liverpool (14) have scored more goals than the Toffees (13).
Moyes, however, is under no illusions that Villa - despite their poor start to the season - will pose a stern test for his side.
“I’ve got great respect for the manager and great respect for Aston Villa," Moyes said. "What they’ve done in recent seasons, they’ve been amazing.
"Until you’re in Europe regularly and playing Premier League games, it’s difficult to explain how difficult it is. They’ve done brilliantly well.”
He added: “I think you always want to look for role models and see how you could do something similar. What I would say, and you’ll know better than me, is that they have had £100 million put into the club for the last five or six years, every year or so.
“It's a great commitment from the owners and from Aston Villa to do that. We are only at the start, so we have a long way to go to catch them up in terms of that.
“They have been building a really strong team for a few years, under Dean Smith they started. Villa have shown everyone that they’ve been a really good side. They have been around the top six of the Premier League.”
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