David Moyes opens up on his time at Man United and reveals their 'biggest problem' as Everton boss prepares to face his former club at Goodison Park

David Moyes says Manchester United started to lose their ‘values’ around the time he was at the club – and their struggles since his sacking have helped rationalise his performance as Old Trafford manager.

The Scotsman took over from Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 but did not last the season and left the club seventh in the table – a huge drop-off from being champions the campaign before. But more than a decade on, United have still not won the title again.

Indeed, they have been through six bosses since Moyes and the current incumbent, Ruben Amorim, takes his side to Everton on Saturday 15th in the table having won just nine of the Portuguese manager’s 21 games.

Asked if United’s struggles in the last decade have helped to rationalise what happened to him there, Moyes said: ‘Yeah, I think so. I think there was a lot of negativity at the time. When you look back, I finished seventh in the Premier League.

‘We'd just got knocked out in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Semi-final in the League Cup. So if you look back at that, you would say, considering where maybe they are now, well, that doesn't look so bad.

‘Looking back now, I've got no hard feelings about anybody. I really enjoyed my time there. But I look back and so many good managers came through. I take myself out of that but Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal… it's still been a difficult job for whoever's been in place there.’

David Moyes' Everton team have leapfrogged Man United in the Premier League table

It's been a season of frustration for Man United captain Bruno Fernandes (centre) and Co.

Moyes left Man United with the club seventh in the league which he says 'doesn't look so bad'

Moyes, of course, is riding high in his second stint at Everton having won four and drawn one of his first six league games. And he says the biggest problem for United has been their noisy neighbours, who have finished above them every season after Ferguson’s exit.

‘The biggest problem for them has been Manchester City,’ added the Toffees boss. ‘The competition to catch them or beat them or be close to them was always really difficult.

‘Jose finished second to them in the league and when you look back, it was a great achievement because City were in their pomp. And I think the emergence of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp as well made it also really difficult.

‘But there's no doubt United will have their time again. It'll come around and someone will get it right.

‘The one thing Manchester United always stood for in their history… they always gave managers time. They had some great principles that they always would play young players, they had some great values.

‘I think probably around that time (I was there), a lot of those values changed a little bit. But, look, when you go to clubs like that, you have to be successful.

‘So maybe looking back at the time, taking over from Sir Alex (Ferguson) to finish seventh in the league, taking over from that and to be where we were in Europe, etc. It might not look as bad as it probably sounded at the time.’

Moyes also admitted he is a different man now since the one who left for Old Trafford and said: ‘(I am) maybe a bit calmer.

Ruben Amorim has admitted that Moyes is doing a better job at Everton than he is at United

David Moyes points out that he is not the only manager to have found life difficult at Old Trafford with the likes of Jose Mourinho (pictured) also feeling the strain during their tenure

Sir Alex Ferguson enjoys Man United's Premier League triumph in 2013, their last league title

‘Maybe a bit of that comes as you get older – you can't be quite as full on. It's very hard for me to go to every Under 21s game and Under 18s game now, which I have done in the past. But I've got to say, the job of being a manager is much more work than there was 15, 20 years ago.

‘Things change and I think you've got to try and change with it. Sometimes a bit more experience helps. Sometimes you can calm yourself down, but don't take my calmness as meaning I'm not passionate with that.

‘I'm also using more people to help me as well, so it's not all left just to the manager. I think most of the teams have that now – like the American football teams have all got in defence line coaches or offensive line coaches, whatever you want to call them

‘We've not quite got that here, but we've got a lot of coaches and we can take some bits of information from each other and help. So have I changed maybe a bit. Maybe I’m not having to fight the world all the time now, when you first come in you feel as if you need to.’

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