DAVID MOYES TARGETS CLUB RETURN AMID SCOTLAND LINKS
David Moyes has revealed he is keen on a swift return to coaching following his departure from West Ham United at the end of the season, but while he has been linked with the Scotland job following their early exit from Euro 2024, he is keen to stay in the domestic game.
Scotland suffered a disappointing campaign in Germany, finishing bottom of Group A with just one point and scoring two goals across their three matches. This has led to speculation over the future of current manager Steve Clarke.
Should the Scottish FA decide to end Clarke’s five year tenure as manager, Moyes would be the frontrunner to take over, but according to Scottish journalist Alan Nixon, the 61-year-old’s preference is to take another club job, even if that means waiting.
European success in second stint
Moyes left West Ham United at the end of the 2023-24 following four and a half years of his second spell. After first managing at the London Stadium from November 2017 to May 2018 he returned in December 2019,
In the 2020-21 season Moyes guided West Ham to sixth in the Premier League, taking them into the Europa League. The following season saw them finish seventh, the first time in club history they had finished in the top seven in two seasons in a row, and reach the Europa League semi-finals.
In 2022-23 West Ham beat Fiorentina to win the Europa Conference League in Prague thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s last minute goal. It was the Hammers’ first European trophy since the 1965 Cup-Winners’ Cup and their first silverware of any kind since the 1980 FA Cup.
Pressure despite success
In spite of the Hammers’ success on the European stage, domestic results led to fan pressure increasing on Moyes. The club finished in 2023 in 14th, but their Conference League win ensured a third straight season of European football via the Europa League.
This was not helped by the club’s form in the second half of the season as they won just four league matches in 2024, including a six match winless run in January and February and taking just four points from their final six matches.
Punditry work and experience
Following his departure from the London Stadium, Moyes has been working as a pundit for the BBC at Euro 2024 in Germany and was in the studio when Scotland were knocked out of the tournament by Hungary, but refused to put the blame on Clarke.
Speaking on air after the game, Moyes said: “We were thrilled when we qualified. Steve did a good job getting us here and took it until the last couple of minutes against Hungary. There’s no shame in it, but we don’t have top, top players to make a difference.”
It is undoubtedly Moyes’ wealth of experience that makes him the favourite for the national team job should it become available. Since taking over at Everton in 2002 he has managed 697 Premier League games across the Toffees, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham. His total is only beaten by Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.
2024-06-30T09:34:24Z dg43tfdfdgfd