**Everton**’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium is the start of a “new romance”, according to David Moyes, but the success of the team on the pitch will determine whether a happy marriage ensues.
The club’s new stadium will stage its eagerly-awaited first competitive game when Brighton & Hove Albion visit for Sunday’s **Premier League**encounter.
Although Moyes feels it was “written in the stars” that he should be in charge for the historic moment in the club’s history, he said it’s imperative that they now construct a team worthy of the £800 million venue.
“*[It is] a new romance. We’ve got a new stadium that we can fall in love with,*” Moyes said.
“A long marriage has a lot to do with how the team is and what team we put on the pitch over the years to come. Can we make that marriage last with the supporters and everybody at the club? I think that’s the next bit.
“We’ve built a brilliant stadium, now the job is to try and build a brilliant team and get to a point where we’re more competitive than what we are. I’m quite confident we can do that.
*“It’s a difficult window and it might be a difficult year for us as well but we’ll get the building blocks down and hopefully we can start moving things along.*”
Moyes, who spent almost 12 years as Everton manager during his first spell at the club, was planning on visiting the new stadium as a supporter with his father to take in the plush new abode.
Getty: James Gill-Danehouse
Instead, he will be front and centre at the opening ceremony having returned to the club in January and admits that it will be fitting to lead Everton into their first league game after making the switch from Goodison Park.
“To be at any one club for 11 and a half years in the first period takes some doing in any level of football,” he said. “I’ve had a great affiliation with Everton over the years and I’m very fortunate to be back, and it just happens I’m back in time for the new stadium.
*“It could have easily been other great managers who’ve managed this club. But I feel that maybe it was written in the stars in some way that I would get the opportunity to do so.*”
'We need to add numbers to the squad'
The positivity around the stadium will only last if the players perform inside it, and there has been frustration at the failure to land a host of leading transfer targets this summer.
Despite bringing in Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry,, Everton are still short in numbers, and Moyes feels they may have to lower their expectations simply to get players through the door.
Moyes, who believes a lack of European football has put off many of the players Everton had hoped to recruit, said: “We have really gone for some top players but unfortunately we’ve not been able to get them so we might be finding ourselves coming down the ladder to find players because we are short on numbers. *We are going to have to adjust.*”