United have lost their traditions, says Moyes

FORMER Manchester United manager David Moyes says the club have abandoned their traditions ahead of his return to Old Trafford with Sunderland tonight.

Moyes, 53, lasted just 10 months as United manager after succeeding his Scottish compatriot Alex Ferguson at the helm in May 2013.

His two successors, Louis van Gaal and current manager Jose Mourinho, have invested heavily on new players and Moyes believes the presentday United are a different club to the one he joined.

“Manchester United was a club with great traditions that they tended to pick British managers. That tradition has now gone,” Moyes said, in comments published by British media on Saturday.

“They are a football club who had traditions with the way they spent.

“They didn’t try to compete with all the others club.

“They tried to do what they thought was the right thing to do and spend in the right way.

“I could say that’s gone, so I think that there have been a few changes at United, but that’s the way they have chosen to go.”

Moyes repeated a claim that he was “def initely unfa irly treated” by United and revealed he had missed out on a s t r i ng of h ig h-prof i le transfer sfer targets.

“When When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale,” ,” said Moyes. “I felt all along that Gareth Bale was a Manchester United ted player.

“I fought right until t h e l a s t mi n u t e . We actually offered red a bigger deal than n Real Madrid.

“But ut Gareth had his mindd made up on going to Real Madrid. That was, , in my mind, the player I reallyr wanted to bring t to Manchester United. “The“T other one waswa Cesc Fabregas,ga who we t h o u g h t we w o u l d g e t rightr up until t h e l a s t minute. “I rememb ber when I f first met Sir A Alex and he a l wa y s s a i d t there was a c chance [Crist tiano] Ronald o m i g h t come back.

“So that was the level we were targeting. I was not going out to bring in seven, eight players, because we had a squad which had just won the league.

“Toni Kroos was agreed to come in the summer. I had agreed it with Toni himself and his agent.

“Sometimes you don’t get deals done.

“A lot of players come into Manchester United and have not necessarily made the difference.

“But I think that, given time and having got to this period, I would have hoped I would be working with a successful team now.”