‘Sticking plaster’ Moyes backs Everton to beat Premier League drop

LIVERPOOL: David Moyes insisted on Monday he had jumped at the chance to manage Everton for a second spell and was confident of extending the club´s 71-year stay in English football´s top-flight.

The Scot, 61, enjoyed great success during his first 11-year stint at Goodison Park from 2002 to 2013, a period including a fourth place Premier League finish in 2005 and a FA Cup final appearance in 2009.

Everton have fallen on harder times since he departed for a short-lived reign as Alex Ferguson´s successor at Manchester United. The Toffees have battled relegation for the past three seasons and sit just one point above the bottom three ahead of the first match of Moyes´ return against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The Liverpool club´s new owners, the American-based Friedkin Group, sacked Sean Dyche last week and have turned to Moyes in a desperate attempt to maintain Premier League survival ahead of a move to a 53,000 capacity stadium next season. “They want to get us back on track and we all know we need a bit of a sticking plaster at the moment and we have to try to make that work,” said Moyes at a pre-match press conference.