The Blues boss is pleased with his side's start to the current campaign, but is still pushing for more.
Everton manager David Moyes applauds the fans
Everton manager David Moyes applauds the fans(Image: Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images)
View Image
David Moyes believes his players “deserve huge credit” after a start to the season in which he has used them being written off as inspiration.
A dismal end to the transfer window left the squad short of players and sparked concerns of a difficult campaign ahead.
But after a win over Ipswich Town, Everton head into the international break unbeaten in seven and with nine points from five matches in the Premier League and passage to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup secured.
Everton putting transfer window troubles behind them as David Moyes' side remains unbeaten
READ MORE: David Moyes questions disallowed Everton goal but sees positives in 'nervy' win against Ipswich
On the questions that greeted the potential of his squad following the end of the window, Moyes said: "I think we’ve tried to turn it into a positive. But if we hadn’t been winning games, you’d be asking me very different questions. So the players deserve huge credit for getting to this point undefeated.
"But I’m actually expecting them to do this. And I’m actually more disappointed that we’ve not scored more goals. I’m rattling them like you couldn’t believe at the moment: ‘Why are we not scoring more goals, getting better crosses in, better finishes, shooting from the edge of the box etc’? Because I think that’s one of the things we’re missing from being a half-decent side."
While he did raise those concerns, he was clear that he viewed the form at the start of the season as positive. Aside from wins over Crystal Palace and Ipswich in the league and the two Carabao Cup games to date, useful points have been secured in shows of resilience against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth.
Reflecting on that form, Moyes said: “I think I would have to say yes in lots of cases [that he is pleased with the start]. We have had a draw at Tottenham and a draw at Bournemouth, which if you look at how Bournemouth are and I know Tottenham have lost today but with what they have bought into the club you would expect them to be a difficult game for anybody. So we've done pretty well. I think the clean sheets are something for us to be pleased about and to try and build on if we can.
“Scoring the goals [is an issue] - and we have, even statistically, we have been making much more chances. I think today we had 21 shots, but only two on target, so that's not any good. But the 21 shots is very good because our attempts at goal in all the games have been much, much higher than they had been. So we're attempting to play in a way where we can get more chances, try and produce more opportunities, and in the main, I think we have, but we've not been taking them.”
Get YOUR Everton FC Newsletter