David Moyes was back at Deepdale with his Everton side on Wednesday night.
Former Preston North End player and manager David Moyes said it was good to be back at his old stomping ground this week.
Everton Manager David Moyes was back at PNE on Wednesday night.placeholder image
Everton Manager David Moyes was back at PNE on Wednesday night. | Dave Howarth / CameraSport
His Everton side defeated PNE 4-0 in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, with Thierno Barry scoring a hat-trick and Brennan Johnson netting the Toffees’ fourth.
Moyes played for North End between 1993 and 1998 and was part of the Third Division-winning side of 1996, the same year he became more involved in coaching.
He was promoted to assistant manager and later took charge when Gary Peters left in 1998, leading the team to the 1999/2000 Second Division title.
He left in March 2002 to start his first spell in charge of Everton, which would last 11 years.
Moyes spoke to the media post-match and said it was ‘really good’ to be at Deepdale again.
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“I loved being back,” he said, “because I saw the stadium get built from the first part right up the whole way. The whole development of Preston at that time was really good.
“The club was in a real form of momentum at the time. I want Preston to do well.
“I always look at all the clubs around this area, whether it be Wigan, Blackpool, Burnley, for example. They all had times in the Premier League, Preston have never got there.
“So I hope sometime before I go that there's a period where Preston gets a chance in the Premier League.”
Wednesday night’s game also saw the return of 19-year-old midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who spent the first half of last season on loan at PNE.
The initial agreement was for him to spend the whole of the 2025/26 campaign at Deepdale but Everton recalled him on January 1 amid a shortage of available midfielders in their ranks.
Armstrong made 13 Premier League appearances for Everton after returning from his loan spell last season and has started this one strongly, registering an assist in their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Moyes told the Lancashire Post: “I think Harrison's loan here was huge for him last year. I keep repeating myself but I wish I hadn't had to bring him back actually, because I wanted for Preston to get better.
“But we had such an injury crisis, boys were away at the African [Cup of] Nations, a couple of injuries.
“He’d been doing well and he was probably about ready to come back to us as well. And I think he's shown at the moment that he's turning into a Premier League player. He’s started the season really well.”