- 6 weeks ago
Everton manager David Moyes on their Premier League trip to Brentford and hopes of qualifying for Europe this season
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
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00:00David, we'll start with Jimmy Garner as well.
00:02What are your thoughts on how he performed for England?
00:05He came away with the player of the match on his debut as well.
00:08Yeah, really pleased for Jimmy and probably no less than expected
00:12the way he's performed for us all season.
00:14I think he's done really well and played well in all the games.
00:17So, pleased that he put in a good enough performance to get recognised.
00:22Thomas Tuchel called him our mini Valverde.
00:24What did you think of that comparison?
00:25Well, I think that's a huge compliment when you think of the quality of Valverde
00:28and he's really well thought of as a player.
00:31So, we think a lot of Jimmy as well.
00:33For yourselves, three wins in four.
00:35Obviously, it's been a while since your last game though as well.
00:38How useful has it been?
00:39What have you been able to do in that break?
00:41I don't think MDO enjoyed three weeks off.
00:44Well, maybe there were some clubs who played a lot of games would do.
00:46But I think when you've had a good result, you want to keep it going when you can.
00:50Obviously, the international breaks take care of themselves.
00:52But I think the way it's worked out seems a strange period for us really.
00:57We're having no Premier League fixtures after the international games.
01:00In some ways though, has it been useful just in thinking of managing the workload of Jarrod Branthwaite for instance?
01:05I know obviously he came on against Chelsea.
01:06But also, Ilyman and Dye, how's he?
01:09They're all fine.
01:09The players are fine.
01:12We've just about got a fully fit squad.
01:14Charlie Alcaraz is back in early training.
01:18So, he's not available for the game.
01:21But he's getting closer to being fit again.
01:23Overall, how do you view the challenges that you face now?
01:26Seven games to go and you're in the mix for a top five finish.
01:29Well, I don't know how we're going to finish.
01:30But if you've given me this position at the start of the season, I said, thanks very much.
01:33I'll shake your hand and hopefully we can keep it going if we can.
01:38Obviously, I think if you really want to get the big prizes, then you've got to win your games at
01:43the right time at the end of the season.
01:45We've started well with the couple of games recently.
01:47So, we have to try and keep that form and that momentum going.
01:51It does feel like a real defining moment in the season now as well.
01:53Because your level one points with Brentford, a win could really tee up that Merseyside derby as well in terms
01:58of a battle for a top five finish.
02:00How do you say that?
02:01Well, Vinny, I only look at one game at a time.
02:03I'm not thinking any further on than that.
02:05I've got to think of Brentford who we lost at home too.
02:09So, we have to try and put that right and correct it at the weekend.
02:13Beto has got three in his last four.
02:15If I remember rightly as well, down there he had a few one-on-ones against Brentford at their place
02:19last season.
02:21He also had an assist the other week with his flick for Illy's goal as well.
02:26Is he finding that knack of getting into good positions once again?
02:30Well, I always hoped that he would get that bit of luck or that good fortune sometimes with strikers' need
02:34to get the goals, to give them the confidence.
02:36He's just beginning to hopefully run into a better form.
02:40He scored the goals in the second half of the season last year, so we're hoping that he can continue
02:44that.
02:45I think he scored maybe seven or eight goals last year in the second half.
02:48So, if he could come up with anything like that, it would be really good.
02:52Probably kind of stating the obvious, but how crucial could that be in terms of the running as well?
02:56Well, it would be MD scoring the goals will be hugely crucial, but I think most teams are always looking
03:01for the forward players to be the ones.
03:03They'll be the ones who probably get the most opportunities.
03:05So, we've got to try and take them when we get them.
03:07Just one final thing for myself.
03:09Obviously, we spoke about it ahead of the first game as well against Brentford, but Keith is doing a good
03:14job down there following on from someone you know very well.
03:16Keith Andrews is doing a really good job from Thomas Frank.
03:20I think that most people would have said following Thomas will be really difficult.
03:24Keith stepped into his shoes and doing a good job.
03:27It's good that we're seeing a young manager having good success.
03:31Let's be fair, Brentford's a club which has given a lot of managers opportunities to do that and get started.
03:38Well done to Brentford Football Club as well for doing that.
03:40Thanks, David. Good luck.
03:42Thanks, Vinny. We'll go to Stuart Premierly Productions.
03:45Hi, Stuart.
03:45Hi.
03:47Obviously, you've got very recent experience of managing great European nights down at West Ham.
03:53What would it mean to bring those in whichever competition to the new stadium?
03:59Well, first thing, I hope I'm not talking too quick.
04:01You're asking me the question, so I'll answer the question.
04:03But I'm also wary about, you know, I was getting too caught up in it because we'd hate to disappoint
04:08everybody in us talking about it.
04:09But the fact of the matter is, I do want to talk about it because this club, this group of
04:14supporters, or all the supporters, I should say, have suffered so much.
04:17I think the thought of getting them back into Europe, to me, makes me think it would be fantastic for
04:21the support here in the club and everything they've been through recently.
04:25So I'm driving it with the players that, can we try and do it? We may not, but we'll hopefully
04:31do it.
04:32And you're right, the nights I had when I was at West Ham were at Europe were brilliant, brilliant nights.
04:36And we didn't always win. We led to a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and eventually we got to a final which
04:42we won.
04:42So I'm hoping that I get the opportunity to try and do that again.
04:47The fact that you're even being asked about European qualification at this stage of the season, there's an amazing turnaround
04:52from recent years where in this room it was often about survival.
04:55I mean, what is the key to that? Could you, at the start of the season, thought that?
05:01Well, the key is always the players and always will be.
05:05It was key, when I was at West Ham, it was the players who'd done it.
05:08They were the key, but I've got to say that the players here have turned themselves around.
05:12I mean, some of the players maybe just over a year ago, you might have not considered that level, are
05:17now playing really well.
05:20We're getting one of the players recently recognised by the England international team.
05:25You know, we've got others, could be knocking on the door.
05:29So it says a lot about their form.
05:30And look, for us to be in Europe, which is a long way away, and some of which I'd like
05:36to talk a lot about if I could guarantee it.
05:39But while it's not guaranteed, I'll sort of half shimmy it and move on to whatever's next.
05:46I mean, obviously Brentford are in that position as well.
05:47They are.
05:48A similar position.
05:49But so are the likes of Brighton and Fulham and a few others.
05:54I probably can't even name off the top of my head at the moment, but I think there's plenty in
05:58the mix.
05:58I mean, it would only need somebody to win probably seven games, six out of seven games or five out
06:04of six games,
06:04and they could easily find themselves in a European position.
06:07So we've got to keep that going and hope that it will be us.
06:10I know they're much more than a set-piece team, but Keith Andrews did specialise in that as a coach.
06:17Is that something that you have particularly sort of looked at ahead of this game?
06:23Of course.
06:24I think when you play Brentford, they've always given you that difficulty under Thomas Frank the same.
06:32I think they've made a big thing of it.
06:34I think they put enough time and effort into it to try and get it right.
06:37So, you know, they've had rewards over the years with it.
06:41So the answer to that is yes.
06:42You have to consider it greatly because they're good at it.
06:47Thanks, Stuart.
06:47We'll go to Julia at Reddy on Merseyside.
06:50Hi, Julia.
06:52It's been announced that fifth is now a Champions League spot.
06:56There's all sorts of connotations, but sixth and seventh could also be if certain factors come into play.
07:02As the manager of Everton right now, do you feel that this is a really good opportunity?
07:08Are you sort of talking about that?
07:10I know you don't want to talk about specifics, but it feels like this is the best chance.
07:14Well, it's probably the best chance we've had for a long time.
07:17I don't know.
07:19But the word Champions League is quite, that probably makes me shake a wee bit at the thought of that.
07:25You know, I've been fortunate enough to play in other competitions quite recently.
07:28And I know that if we were able to get there, it would give us a, we'd be able to
07:31hold our own in certain levels of it.
07:33But I think the Champions League is a completely different thing to talk about.
07:38But look, Europe, if you'd said Europe, any competition, if it was the tiddlywinks European competition we got in, we'd
07:46be excited about it.
07:47But because the Everton is no way, we want to get back in amongst it.
07:52We want to start getting talked about again.
07:54And, you know, we've got a lot of good things going now.
07:57The stadium, we'll get one or two England international players who are getting talked about through the media more.
08:02So I hope that we can keep it going.
08:04And if we can, it'll be a brilliant achievement if we can do it.
08:07But whatever competition we make, I would still see as a real positive.
08:12It's hard to think only a year ago.
08:13I remember you saying you were up late at night thinking, I've come back, can I keep Everton up?
08:19And everyone's enjoying the football.
08:22We're all sat here talking about Europe with you.
08:24Are you enjoying it?
08:25I'm absolutely loving the thought that how good it is.
08:29Because let me tell you, as a football manager, you don't get it good all the time.
08:33There's going to be bad times on the journey.
08:34All managers will have to go through periods where it's not so good.
08:38You'll be criticised for losing or your team selection or something.
08:42But at the moment, I have to say, the sort of year and a bit I've been back, it's been
08:46great.
08:47It's been a great time for me and my family.
08:51But I've really enjoyed it because the players have done great.
08:54You know, their form away from home, their form at Goodison at the end of the season.
08:57And, you know, and obviously the Hill Dickinson as well, we're just beginning to get grown into it.
09:02So I think there's been a lot of really good things at Everton so far and hopefully we can keep
09:08it going.
09:08Yeah.
09:09If you can get a European spot, then this whole second tenure of yours will be seen as a real
09:14historical period in the club's history.
09:16Because of the end of Goodison, because of the move and because what you are achieving in such a short
09:22space of time.
09:22Yeah, and that's why, look, I'd love to really talk deeper and really say, yeah, isn't it great?
09:28But we're not in that position yet.
09:29So I'm really wary not to get caught out.
09:32But I don't want to be negative.
09:34I want to be positive and say we're going to attempt to do it.
09:36We want to try and make it.
09:39But I'm trying not to get caught too much of it.
09:41Because every result, you know, the amount of teams who could probably qualify for Europe, there's probably about six teams
09:47who think we're in, we're in, we're out.
09:49So, you know, you only need to lose a few and you're not talking that way anymore.
09:52We'd lost a few, I think, around January time.
09:55And, you know, obviously, now where it's probably gone from is we'll probably not get that opportunity.
09:59I hoped that we might get one more opportunity.
10:01We've got an opportunity.
10:02We have to hang on to it now.
10:04Sleeping a bit better as well.
10:06And just want to talk about managing minutes because you've spoken about, you know, Jared needs his minutes managing.
10:11I think James Tarkovsky's been in a similar situation this season.
10:15Just wonder if you could explain a bit more about that because I think everyone hears the term managing minutes.
10:19What does that mean?
10:20Can they train in full?
10:21I don't really know myself.
10:23It just seems to be a sort of word which everybody's brought up now.
10:28I think squads are bigger.
10:30So, you know, you have to give players opportunities to play one way or another.
10:34So, sometimes managing minutes is quite a nice word to use when you're half rotating, half changing it round.
10:41But I do get the point.
10:42You know, there's a player coming back from injury.
10:44Jared was out for the best part of six, seven months.
10:48So, to say, hey, bring him back and play him in every game and put him in, then when you
10:51look back and you think about it, you say, well, that's probably not correct.
10:54So, I think that's where the word managing minutes really comes from.
10:59And we've had to do it at the right time.
11:01He's undoubtedly a super player, Jared, and we want him playing as fit as we possibly can.
11:06But we've also just got to be mindful that we wouldn't put him in a situation where we could lose
11:10him again for a long period by maybe doing too much.
11:13So, but he's back fit and raring to go now.
11:17Finally, for me, Jack Relish is still around the club.
11:20It's sometimes unusual for players when they've had an injury of the length he's had not to go back to
11:26the parent club.
11:27Yeah.
11:27Is that an indication of how much he would like his future to be at Everton?
11:33And I know there's a lot of stories doing around it.
11:35Are you able to do anything?
11:36No, well, we wouldn't be making any decision.
11:38We wouldn't be.
11:39And even if I was, I wouldn't be seeing anything at the moment as well because Jack's had a quite
11:43serious operation on his foot.
11:46So, we've got to give that time to healing.
11:48We're going to have to see how the healing goes as well.
11:50But Jack is here.
11:51We love having him around.
11:52He's a great company.
11:55If you look at the contribution he made, probably, I don't know, 15, 20 games, how many games it was
11:59he played.
12:01He was great.
12:02And he gave the crowd a lift and he gave us all something.
12:04So, he certainly played a big part in where we're sitting just now.
12:08But there's no other decision that's been made at the moment.
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