David Moyes gave his first pre-match press conference since returning as Everton manager and he admitted that the part the home crowd can play at Goodison Park will be important as he looks to get the results needed to pull the Club away from the bottom three.

The Scot was confirmed as manager on Saturday in the wake of Sean Dyche's departure last Thursday and he inherits a side sitting one point above the drop zone having won just one of their last 10 Premier League matches.

He took charge of his first training session earlier today as he prepares for a clash with Aston Villa under the lights at the Old Lady on Wednesday evening and then faced the press at Finch Farm. 

Moyes, who had been out of work since leaving West Ham when his contract there ended last May, had said that he wasn't looking to get embroiled in another relegation battle but he confessed that the draw of returning to the club where he spent 11 years was too strong to turn down.

“In truth, I wasn't necessarily looking to go back [into management] but, as everybody knows, this is a very different beast to me than many other clubs.

"Everton is different. A couple of weeks [ago], I didn't think there was any chance that Everton could be in a relegation fight. I thought they'd be strong enough to get out of it. I've come into the seat now and I'm going to back that up and say that I believe we'll be strong enough to stay away from it.

“But I'm not be kidding myself or anybody else. We'll need everybody behind us, we'll need the players playing better [and] scoring more goals if we're going to make that happen.

“This period isn't going to be easy but I think the new ownership have got big ideas and big hopes they can make a big difference to the football club.

“I had a great time here. I'd love to be a part of making it better, if possible. At the end of it there's a stadium which looks the business, it looks elite, so we need to start getting some elite players. We need to start looking at the level of players so we can give everybody something to shout about before we move to the new stadium."

His predecessor's one-dimensional tactics had become a source of friction for many fans this season, as had a chronic lack of creativity, chances and goals, and the returning boss was asked what sort of style of football he was hoping to institute at Everton this time around.

“I'm going to try and play to win as many games as I possibly can to get myself out of this position, then I'm going to think about how my style is going to develop and what I'm going to do to make that work.

“I couldn't tell you exactly what the biggest strength is of all the players here because I might know better in, say, a month's time once I've had them and I get the chance to see them play... to see their positions and what they're good at.

Asked if starting his second tenure with two home games, first against Villa and then Tottenham on Sunday, would him get off to a good start, Moyes admitted that having the Goodison faithful behind him would be an advantage.  

“Goodison well help,” he said, “but what we've got to do is talk about the opposition — we're playing against two really good sides ... but my history will tell me that Goodison has played such a big part and if they could do it again and help us, it'll be really important. And I feel now that we'll need a little bit of help.

“I saw the support that Evertonians gave the team in the run-in last season which was needed. Hopefully we're not in that position at the moment but I'm hoping the crowd will get behind us."

Moyes confirmed that Billy McKinlay and Alan Irvine will join his backroom staff along with Leighton Baines who took charge of team affairs with Seamus Coleman for the FA Cup 3rd Round win over Peterborough United last week.

Later, in the closed session with the print media, Moyes explained that he had told the players they needed to step up and put in performances to ensure the Blues stay up this season.

“I’ve told the players today: ‘I’m not coming here to manage a team at the bottom of the league. I’m coming to manage a team that’s going to be fighting and challenging,’” the new manager said.

“Part of it is – you players had better turn up. I’ve got no doubt the crowd, the people, Goodison, will all play a part. The players have to play their part now and show they can handle it. Goodison can be a very fierce arena and they have to go on stage and put on a big act. They have to perform.”


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