Everton boss David Moyes on finishing the season strong and the tricky test of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Before that time when I got to the pub, yeah.
00:07Good morning everyone, welcome to our pre-match press conference, the preview of our game against Nottingham Forest.
00:12We'll start off with that one, that's Kai.
00:14Morning David.
00:15Hi Alan.
00:15Here we go again against another top side, you've had Arsenal and Liverpool fared reasonably well.
00:20How do you feel about your side's progress against these sides?
00:23Well I saw it as a challenge when we saw this group of games, I'm saying against all the teams who are in the top area of the league.
00:31So it's been good, I think we've acquitted ourselves really well.
00:37We'd like to get a bit more points if we can, but I think when you're playing the top teams at this time in the season it's always difficult, they're desperate for the points.
00:45So we go to Nottingham Forest who've had a great season, are having a great season and we're going to have to play well.
00:52Have they surprised you and their style of play and the way that they've made their way into the top four or five?
00:59I think they surprised me from where their position was last year.
01:03I have to say Nuno's done an incredible job.
01:06I've got no real interest in their style, football has to be played in many different ways and if we're only going to play football in one way then I think it'll be boring.
01:13So I think it's great that we have different types and we see different teams play in different ways.
01:18I think Nottingham Forest have had an incredible season and great credit to them.
01:24They've got a great crowd down there and it's always been an incredibly famous football club because of Brian Coff and their great years in Europe.
01:35Do you see him as a candidate for manager of the year?
01:38Invariably it goes to the title winners but given the job that he has done, you mentioned where they were last season.
01:44Yeah, well if you're going to be manager of the year then it's more to do with the resources you've got as well.
01:49It doesn't always go to the people who win it with the biggest resources, the biggest clubs.
01:54I think from Nottingham Forest's position of last season to where they are now, I think they would have to put Nuno in a strong position to get one of those votes.
02:07Just on this run of games, I think if we went back a couple of months the fans might have been looking at these with a bit of trepidation.
02:14But I think they're looking forward now to the fact that you can test yourselves against these top clubs. Is that the way you see it as well?
02:22Yeah, I do. I really think it's a challenge to our players as well to see where we want to try and be next season.
02:30And I think our form over the last couple of months really has been as good as most teams. So we want to keep that up. We know that we've got to try and turn some of our draws into wins if we can.
02:45But a lot of our draws this season so far have been against a lot of good teams. So we go up against another good team away from home.
02:52We'll have to be hard to play against and hard to beat and try and do a good job on Forest.
03:00If you can't win a game, don't lose it might be the mantra. I think some of the pessimistic Evertonians might be saying you haven't won in six games, but if you've won in five, it's not bad.
03:08Well, I've got to say I don't think there's too many pessimistic Evertonians at this moment in time.
03:12That's true. You're getting close to a fully fit squad as well. Any progress on Dominic Calvert-Lewin?
03:18Yeah, Dom's out in the grass and he's training well. I think because it's been a hamstring injury, it's not the sort of thing that we can say, hey, we can speed it up greatly and bring him back.
03:31I think we're trying to follow all the protocols with it and try not to bring him back too quickly.
03:35But we're sort of roughly thinking, I think we've got another three weeks on Dom before we're even probably talking about probably him getting back into.
03:44I don't know about full-time training or actually games yet, I'm not sure, but we'll certainly think we've got another three weeks before we can start mentioning him.
03:53Dwight McNeil, good to see him back on the pitch last week, but you were missing a few with Jasper Lindstrom and Mikhellenko.
03:59Yeah, well, unfortunately, Jasper's had a hernia operation yesterday, so that'll rule Jasper out probably for most of the season now.
04:09So that's disappointing for him and for us because he'd started to show some decent form in the last month or so as well and he was an important player for us.
04:18So Jasper out, we've got Mikhellenko back in the grass training, you know, Dwight's back, still trying to get them up to speed, but certainly in and around things.
04:30Just looking further ahead, you mentioned the end of the season there, a lot of players out of contract, David, at the end of the season, and you've got loan players with those going to a close as well.
04:40Is there a lot of planning going on in terms of recruitment over the summer months?
04:44Yeah, we've started to look forward. First and foremost, the job's to make sure that we're a Premier League club.
04:50So if we weren't, then obviously things would be completely different, but I believe now that we've probably got enough points to be a Premier League club.
04:59Mathematically, that isn't completely correct, but we are starting to plan, starting to look forward.
05:05We'll talk about the players' contracts probably when we are mathematically safe, because then at least we can start to understand exactly what the finances will look like.
05:17So hopefully in a week or two's time we'll be able to start looking at players' contracts and what we're going to do.
05:23Do you think there might be some difficulty in trying to hold on to the likes of Jarrod Branthwaite?
05:27Good players will always be linked with moves away, especially good York players as well.
05:32Yeah, you have to remember Jarrod Branthwaite's got a three-year contract left, he's got two years and a year's option.
05:37So if anything, Everton will hold all the cards regarding that player if you're mentioning him.
05:43But I have to also say, over the journey I've had it, over many years at Everton, we've had to sell different players,
05:48from Wayne Rooney to Mikel Arteta to Joanne Lescott, part of being a football manager, especially at certain clubs you have to sell on the journey to try and build as well.
06:00But I wouldn't think that Jarrod's one of the players that I would want to lose, that's for sure.
06:06Just finally for me, have you been to Bramley Mall, Doc, this week?
06:10No, I've not. I've not had the chance.
06:12Yeah, no, I've been busy this week, so it's not allowed me the chance to get down.
06:17But hopefully in the next week or so I'll get myself down and have a look.
06:20And by that time, hopefully it will be categorical.
06:23Well, we hope so. I don't know if we can do it by next week or not.
06:27I don't know if that's the case, but we're certainly closing in on it anyway.
06:31Well, good luck for the weekend.
06:33Thanks, Alan. We'll go to Simon at Premier League Productions.
06:35So are you waiting for those magical mathematical games before you go down?
06:39Yes, we are. We're waiting on those numbers to make sure that...
06:42And I think, to be fair, the owners as well, they're sort of wanting us to make sure
06:47that those... Because it does change dramatically, you know,
06:51maybe the level of players you're looking at, maybe the players you're keeping,
06:53you know, wages, et cetera, you'd pay if you were in the Premier League or if you weren't.
06:57In terms of visiting the stadium, is that more of a superstition thing?
07:00No, I don't want to use it as a superstition.
07:03I just didn't want it to get in the way of my work, what I'm doing here just now.
07:07I think there's so much big excitement about moving to the new stadium.
07:13I only really wanted to do it if we were a Premier League club.
07:15You know, if we weren't, I would be sort of saying,
07:17oh, my goodness, it's not going to be the same.
07:20So I do believe that we will be a Premier League club in a new stadium,
07:25or in the new stadium.
07:26So I'll get there hopefully this week sometime.
07:30You talked about the run of results recently.
07:33The Arsenal draw probably seems even better now, given what they did against Real Madrid as well.
07:38But all that positivity that's still around here,
07:41is that a sign of how far this club has come in such a short space of time,
07:45but how far they've still got to go?
07:47I think it's really positive that the players at the club here are competing against Arsenal and Liverpool
07:53and giving them good games, winning at Brighton, for example, over recent weeks.
07:59I think in the early part of the season, I don't think MD would have seen a group of players here
08:02probably ready to do that or do it or getting a result.
08:05So I think recently the players have stepped up greatly,
08:09showing great resolve as well, resilience in a lot of the games.
08:14Their job, we're talking about Nottingham Forest and how they play,
08:18and, you know, maybe different from maybe a lot of other teams in getting great success.
08:22So we have to find a sort of niche for us to get ourselves results.
08:26And in recent weeks and months, we've been doing quite well.
08:29Just one more for me, if I may.
08:31You talked about Dwight coming in, his first appearance since December.
08:34Tim and Nathan, I think that was their first start since you arrived as well.
08:38What have you been able to learn about, not just them, but also your squad recently as well?
08:44Well, part of the reason, too, I wanted to see Tim.
08:46I wanted to get Tim a start last week.
08:49I've been trying to get Pato opportunities where I think that it happened because of an injury for Pato
08:54and he had to play out of position.
08:57I'm the same that there's two or three others.
08:59I want to try and get some more playing time.
09:01So while we're in this position, it gives me a chance maybe to look to see
09:04change the team.
09:05We might do so tomorrow as well.
09:07And we'll see if we want to try and have a look at one or two others as well.
09:13Thanks, Simon.
09:14We'll go to Ian at Radio Mercer.
09:15Hi, David.
09:16Hi, David.
09:17It's an away game, obviously.
09:19Since you came back to the club, the away form has been pretty good.
09:22Obviously, a lot of focus on the new stadium next season.
09:25But how important will it be away from home to continue that development of results,
09:30if you like, so that you can make the next step?
09:32Yeah, when you think of whether we've been to Palace and got a result and Brighton to
09:36get results as well, but more Brentford, you know, we've done relatively well away from
09:43home.
09:44So we're on the road again.
09:46I think I said we're at one of the top teams in the country at the moment.
09:50Nottingham Forest playing very well.
09:52And tough game for us.
09:55But again, we'll go there and see how we can do.
09:57But again, I do think you're right with what you're saying.
10:00I think home form is always hugely important for most teams, though, that you get most of
10:04your wins at home.
10:06But I think that you need to pick up wins on the road as well.
10:08And if we could pick up another couple before the end of the season, that would be nice.
10:13And in terms of what Forest have done this season, does that give you and maybe other
10:17clubs a bit of hope in terms of what can be done in a short space of time, actually, to
10:23go from one end of the table to the other?
10:25Well, I think that we've done it at West Ham.
10:28We were fighting relegation the following year to be in Europe.
10:33We didn't qualify for the Champions League, which it looks like Nottingham Forest have
10:37got a great chance of doing.
10:39So great credit to them because it's a big jump.
10:43And let's be fair, they had a period, you know, I think the last two seasons of maybe
10:48just about surviving and keeping themselves up and thinking that everything they were doing
10:52was wrong.
10:53And now looking at it, you know, they've done an awful lot of good things, good recruitment,
10:57good signings and sort of brought their club back to life.
11:02So I think it gives everybody hope that in the Premier League, you know, there is a little
11:07bit of a chance we're seeing some other clubs developing and coming through.
11:11You know, great seasons for the likes of Fulham and Bournemouth this year as well.
11:16So I do think that if you can get it right and get off to a good start in the Premier League,
11:21you know, you can give yourself a chance.
11:23Thanks Ian, we'll go to Paddy at the Athletic.
11:27Hi Paddy.
11:27Hi David.
11:28Is Dwight ready to start now, do you think?
11:32No, I don't think so, no.
11:33No.
11:34And in terms of Illiman, you've mainly used him off the left so far.
11:38Do you feel that's his best position or could he play elsewhere?
11:40Well, I think partly because Dakuri's played well and as a team player, he's probably been
11:45very good for us in his effort and his running and what he's offering.
11:50Might be that we've got opportunities to see LA in a different position, maybe more towards
11:57pre-season.
11:58Might get a chance before the end of the season as well.
12:00But at the moment, we're so short of wide players.
12:04You know, LA's one of the only people who can play wide for us.
12:07Thanks Paddy.
12:10Any further questions in the open section before we move on?
12:15No?
12:16Okay, thanks.