David Moyes sets Everton supporters Hill Dickinson Stadium challenge

David Moyes sets Everton supporters Hill Dickinson Stadium challenge - 'We've got to try'

EXCLUSIVE: David Moyes sits down at his team's hotel in the USA with ECHO Everton reporter Chris Beesley to discuss all the big issues for the Blues

Everton manager David Moyes has spoken to the Liverpool ECHO (Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC Official Photography Library/SmartFrame)

Everton have played in some incredible American arenas throughout the Premier League Summer Series, but David Moyes believes that when they get home, the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium can be the springboard to an exciting new chapter in the club’s history.

‌

Following his return to Goodison Park in January, the Scot refused to step foot inside the Blues’ future home at Bramley-Moore Dock until he felt the team were safe from relegation danger but since then, he’s been making up for lost time, getting his players to train at the 52,769 capacity venue and take part in a behind closed doors friendly against Port Vale, winning 2-1 on the day before they flew to the USA. On the prospect of moving to the Mersey waterfront, Moyes told the ECHO: “I’m looking forward to it. For years, all Evertonians have been looking forward to a new stadium.

‌

“They wanted a feeling of a new start as well. I think they’re going to try and have a new start.

‌

“We don’t want to take away all the things that Everton stand for. We want a great stadium, we want a noisy crowd, we want the supporters to lift the players.

“We’re competing against another team in the city who are very good. We have to try and get back to the levels where we were competitive with them.

“We’ve got to try and do that as well. But first and foremost, we’ve got to try and look after ourselves again and get a good footing in the stadium.

‌

“I feel we can perform at a level because Goodison certainly gave us a feeling that we could win some games at home on the back of Goodison on its own.”

Having now had a chance to check out his new workplace, Moyes is eager for the supporters – and there will now be a third more watching the team with Everton having the chance to turn out in front of the biggest regular crowds in the club’s history – to play their part in recreating the ‘bear pit’ atmosphere of ‘The Grand Old Lady’ inside the intimate, steep stands designed by American architect Dan Meis. He said: “It’s a big, big pitch. There’s a feel of it being a much bigger arena than Goodison.

“I hope we can keep the noise levels that we’ve had at Goodison, but part of that is down to how you perform and the performances of the players on the pitch. We want to have good players to go on that stage and put on a good show at the new stadium.

‌

“I’ve been impressed by it. It looks like there’s still a good bit to do behind the scenes, but it looks like it’s all going to be ready for the game against Brighton.”

Moyes’ reluctance not to tempt fate and visit the new stadium until he was confident Everton would be going there as a Premier League club stems from the fact he came back at a time when the Blues had picked up just 17 points from the first half of the season. That was less than 50% of their total from 2022/23, which was the lowest equivalent total in their history as they avoided a first relegation in 72 years by a single goal on the last day.

Having left West Ham United when his contract expired at the end of the 2023/24 season, the Scot, who also spoke exclusively to this correspondent last September in what became the most-watched of the 20 episodes in the Goodison Park: My Home series, insists he never expected to be back where he is now at the time.

‌

KICK OFF - Everton F.C. pre-season guide 2025/26 The countdown is on to the 2025/26 Premier League campaign - and our pre-season guide is the ideal way to prepare for the action ahead. As well as in-depth analysis and opinion on your club, we turn the spotlight on every team battling for top-flight glory - or simply survival in the toughest league in the world! Also full fixtures guide so you don't miss a game in what is set to be a thrilling season. Get your copy NOW

Moyes said: “I genuinely didn’t believe that was going to be the case. I knew that Everton were having problems and Sean had spoken to me on a few occasions about how it was a difficult time for the club.

“I didn’t expect it at all though. You’ve heard me say before, there were a couple of clubs who enquired about me joining them before Everton and I’d said no because I didn’t really see the reason for me to go back in and I didn’t feel it was the right job or the right club.

‌

“I think the Everton one was different. I was more worried that I couldn’t do the job to keep the club up, that was my bigger concern.

“Not because I couldn’t do it, but we didn’t have enough in the building and unfortunately we could have ended up being relegated. But it proved to be the exact opposite and it proved to be a good period.

“It was certainly something that showed I made the right decision in coming back.”

‌

Everton ended up picking up 31 points in the second half of the season under Moyes and eventually reached the relatively dizzy heights of 13th with their safety mathematically secured with five games to go. That was thanks to an impressive upturn in form that saw a side that had triumphed on the road just once in the previous year enjoy five away victories.

The improvements surprised even the manager, though, who said: “It’s easy saying it but at the time I did only think, having studied it really hard, was that (above the bottom three) the only other two teams involved in the relegation I felt were Wolves and ourselves. I thought there were five teams in it.

“But let’s be fair, by the end of it, even a couple of the teams here, Manchester United and West Ham, ended up finishing below us, and Tottenham as well. I was coming in saying, I want to make sure out of that five that we’re not one of the three.

‌

“So, for us to end up where we were with some of the results we’ve had were brilliant, especially on the road as well. We picked up some great results.

“You never really like patting yourself on the back but I’ve got to say that the relief in some ways was the big thing was to say: ‘By the way, we’ve got through a difficult period when it looked as though it could have been really bad.’

“We could have been going to the new stadium as a relegated team – and some people would say we were never going to go down – but the points at the time suggested we were in that position and could have easily fallen into it.”

‌

Moyes has now managed more Premier League games than anyone other than legendary serial title winners Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, who hand-picked him as his Old Trafford successor in 2013, and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal. He picked up a hat-trick of LMA Manager of the Year awards during his first spell in charge at Goodison Park in 2002/03; 2004/05 and 2008/09, but this summer brought an all together different kind of award as he received his OBE for services to football from the Prince of Wales, who served as President of the FA between 2006-24, at Windsor Castle.

Everton manager David Moyes after being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empir (Image: Aaron Chown - WPA Pool / Getty Images)

Reflecting on the day, Moyes said: “It was a huge moment for the whole family. I was unbelievably honoured, and I didn’t see it coming and I wasn’t expecting it in any way.

Article continues below

“It was a great moment to be honoured in that way. Sometimes in life, you keep going and you keeping ploughing away, trying to keep resilient and doing the best you can in whatever job you do and wherever you work.

“It was great to meet William. We spoke a little bit about Aston Villa and he congratulated me on all the time I’d been in football.

“It was great for my family because I’ve had great support from my wife, my brother and my dad, and they’re always around. They all come to the games, they have done for years, and they’re all really glad to be back doing it again at Everton I must say.”

Click here to read article