Only way is up as Sunderland ambition impresses Moyes
DAVID MOYES demanded guarantees over budget and ambition before taking charge of Sunderland and says they can no longer celebrate finishing fourth bottom.
The 53-year-old was confirmed as the club’s seventh manager in less than five years yesterday, replacing new England boss Sam Allardyce.
Moyes turned down the chance to join the club before Allardyce’s appointment last October, only to be sacked by Real Sociedad the following month.
The Scot has spent the past week in talks with owner Ellis Short once it became clear that Allardyce was set for Wembley.
And, given that Allardyce was growing increasingly frustrated with the club’s failure to so far sign a single player this summer, Moyes is thought to have sought reassurance about the financial backing he will receive.
‘The club were really slick and Martin Bain (chief executive) and Ellis were terrific in getting things done. They’ve given me some guarantees and reassurances about what we can do,’ said Moyes, who was in the stands for yesterday’s friendly at Rotherham.
‘I’ve been really impressed by the owner. He’s given guarantees to make sure we keep improving.
‘We have a big club here we need to take forward. We need to make sure it isn’t us celebrating staying up. That can’t be the goal. It’s not my goal, that’s for sure.
‘I am really looking forward to the challenge. It’s been something I’ve been hoping to get done ever since I heard there was a possibility of Sam going to England.
‘I want to try and give Sunderland a bit of stability that it has lacked. No manager can ever ask for time now, but if you are a Sunderland supporter you are saying we want a manager to be here for a long time and you want a manager to be here to take the club up. It has all the infrastructure and everything in place to be a club at the top of the league.’
Moyes will travel to France with his squad today ahead of three pre-season friendlies this week.
The highly rated Robbie Stockdale is set to remain as part of the backroom team, while Billy McKinlay — assistant to Moyes in Spain — is in line for a role after quitting as manager of Norwegian side Stabaek earlier this month.
Moyes believes that, given time, he can transform the fortunes of the club, just as he did during 11 seasons at Everton.
‘This reminds me a lot of when I took over at Everton,’ he told Sunderland’s official website. ‘Sam did a great job in keeping the club up last year, but we have to get away from being that sort of team.’