Everton manager David Moyes has been speaking about how difficult the Premier League is this season ahead of Manchester United's visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium
David Moyes admits Everton are going to have to win some big games between now and the end of the season as they prepare to host Manchester United on Monday in what will be the most intense fixture at Hill Dickinson Stadium to date. The visit of the Red Devils will be one of six games out of their last 12 matches that the eighth placed Blues have against teams currently above them in the Premier League table.
Moyes said: “I think last year the nine games I had to play, I was thinking: ‘My goodness, how am I going to get any wins to stay in the Premier League?’ I think we’ve probably got over that completely.
“I think the challenge now is can we change mentality, can we change the whole direction we’re going in? We’re not going to be that team anymore, fighting relegation, we’re a team who are planning to try and challenge the teams in Europe.
“To do that, we’re going to have to win some big games in the run-in. We’re in a batch of big games.
“We’ve got everybody fit bar Jack Grealish. So, we’re probably in as good a physical shape as far as that goes.
“We’ve probably got a bit of disruption in terms of game times. We might have 10 or 12 days off, then suddenly we might have three games in eight days.
“So, we’ve not got a particularly consistent calendar in terms of the games, but we’ve certainly got hard games to come.”
Everton won the reverse fixture on November 24 as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s goal ensured they became the first team to beat Manchester United in a Premier League game at Old Trafford after having a player sent off. Moyes said: “I think the big thing I’ve wanted us to do at Everton was to make sure we were competitive with the so-called bigger teams or the teams who are near the top of the league. I think we’ve tried to do that.
“We’ve not won all the games, but I think we have been competitive. On the night we were, we showed resilience.
“It was a huge win for us at the time because we were trying to keep up with everybody and we have. All season, we’ve been trying to retain our position and in the main we’ve done so with one or two blips but obviously the three points at Old Trafford was a huge boost for us.”
Much has been made of the competitive nature of the Premier League this season and after table-topping Arsenal squandered a 2-0 lead to draw at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday, Moyes reiterated how difficult it is in the division this term. Only serial title winners Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal have now managed more Premier League matches than the 62-year-old and he said: “I’ve actually been laughing at quite a few people who have been talking about it and I’ve been listening. Unless you’re actually sitting in the seat as the manager of one of the clubs, you’re not understanding how difficult the games are.
“The level of the games, the teams. We played Wolves here a few weeks ago and got a draw, we played Leeds and got a draw, even Bournemouth, who we lost to.
“People are thinking you turn up and you roll these teams over. The games are so, so difficult.
“By the way, there are one or two teams that might blow all the teams away in the league, there might be. But, in the main, most of the teams have been very competitive with very little between them – the games are very close and pretty unpredictable at the moment.”
With Everton having failed to win any of their last six home matches, fan group the 1878s are hoping to boost the atmosphere at Hill Dickinson Stadium with a large display of flags and banners before kick-off and Moyes remains a big supporter of their efforts. He said: “It will be hugely helpful and will be hugely appreciated. Anything we can get at the moment to help us is helpful because at home has felt difficult for whatever reason that might be.
“I think there are a lot of generalisations you can make that I’ve probably said in many interviews with it being a new home, it’s never that easy with new surroundings and other teams enjoying it, all those things. The people who make football clubs are the supporters and inside the stadium, they’re the ones who make a big difference and if they can help make a difference on Monday night, that will be very much appreciated.”