Flak I got at United was out of order, says Moyes
DAVID MOYES believes Jose Mourinho’s current struggle at Manchester United proves that criticism of his own tenure was unfair.
The Scot inherited the Premier League champions when he replaced Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013 but lasted just 10 months at Old Trafford before being sacked with the team in seventh place in the Premier League.
Louis van Gaal succeeded Moyes but he, too, was dismissed after two seasons.
Mourinho, though, has the worst record of all three managers to follow Ferguson and Thursday night’s Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce means he has now lost five of his 16 games in charge.
Indeed, it is Sunderland boss Moyes who boasts the best return from the same amount of matches.
And the 53-year-old says that the problems encountered by van Gaal and now Mourinho provides some context on his own brief reign.
‘It does show that maybe it wasn’t just down to David Moyes,’ he said. ‘I’ve always felt that (it wasn’t just my fault) and that it would take time.
‘The Manchester United job will be tough for anybody who takes it, whether it be Jose or Louis or me, because you’re following the finest manager in our time. Jose’s a top manager, as was van Gaal, but it’s difficult for whoever goes there.’
Moyes, though, believes United should stick by Mourinho.
‘Manchester United need stability, and it’s a club that has always trusted itself, trusted its managers, believed in their managers, and given their managers time to do the right job,’ he added.
‘I had my time there, and it’s passed on to somebody else. But it’s still a great job.’ Moyes has an even tougher job on his hands at bottom club Sunderland right now and travels to Bournemouth today in search of his first league victory this season.
Owner Ellis Short insists that he will be given time to turn things around and, despite the Black Cats recording the worst 10-game start in Premier League history, Moyes believes fans do not want to see him sacked.
‘I think supporters want a period of stability,’ said the manager, who signed a four-year deal at the Stadium of Light in July.
‘They want a period of success as well, which they have not been able to get. I’m a big boy and I know it’s my job to get results. But I also think the club are aware that we don’t want to get in a situation of changing managers all of the time, rightly so. That, at the moment, is helping me.
‘But I’m not stupid. It will get to a point where we can’t keep saying this (give him time). The fact of the matter is we’re not doing well.
‘The size of the club and its history is not in doubt. But it is the supporters who are making Sunderland great at the moment. They are the ones who are keeping us going.
‘They are the only plus point — it’s not the team, or the manager. We are not performing, but the supporters are.
‘We now have to say: “How do we build this club?”. It may be painful. In saying that, it has been painful for four years anyway.
‘But I think they are willing to go through the pain if they think there is a rainbow at the other end.’