History calls for manager determined to put stamp on new era

David Moyes is well aware of the responsibility of following Sir Alex Ferguson but is ready to take up the challenge, James Ducker writes

Moyes embraces challenge

David Moyes is well aware of the responsibility of following Sir Alex Ferguson but is ready to take up the challenge, James Ducker writes

OF the many words of advice and support David Moyes has received since he was confirmed as Manchester United manager 75 days ago, four, in particular, have stuck with him.
 

"You'll do it easy," was probably not the most obvious thing to say to the person given the task of succeeding a manager who won 38 trophies during 26 years at the helm at Old Trafford, creating a modern marvel in the process, but for Moyes those four words appear to have had a disarming effect.

If they came from the mouth of Sir Alex Ferguson, that illustrious predecessor in question, he is not saying. Having inherited a mess in the form of Wayne Rooney's future, the former Everton manager has also discovered very quickly that there is nothing easy about managing the Barclays Premier League champions.

Nonetheless, there is a quiet conviction about Moyes, who, so far at least, has succeeded in striking that difficult balance between showing deference to Ferguson and the players who won so much under him, while at the same time laying down a marker of his own.

"I don't want to mention Sir Alex in every conversation I have but in the same breath I would hate to think in any way that I was disrespecting someone of his level," Moyes says.

"But it has to be a new era. My job is to make my history. I'm following someone who has made incredible history. I have to make sure that my history and my time is something which the fans and people talk about.

"It is my team now. I have taken over. I'm in charge. As I have said, I will use the ex-manager as much as I can because of his knowledge, but it is my team now and I have to take responsibility for that."

Moyes has taken a small group of Manchester-based football reporters out for dinner at The Cut Bar & Grill in Sydney, an upmarket restaurant in The Rocks, one of the city's more fashionable districts.

The four-hour slow-roast F1 Wagyu standing rib proves a favourite with most, the manager included, and the conversation and wine are just as good. By the time the tape recorders actually go on, Thursday has lapsed into Friday.

Moyes starts by explaining how he would like to make at least two signings this summer and strengthen a midfield that, to most seasoned United observers, should have been revamped a few years years ago.

Identifying the weaknesses was not the hard part, though - getting the players to address them will be. Barcelona are playing hardball over Cesc Fabregas, Everton may do the same with Marouane Fellaini, and then there is the small matter of trying to prise Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur's grasp.

Given United's forbidding early fixture schedule - with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City to play in the first five games and a tricky test away to Swansea City to kick things off - Moyes's eagerness to add some new faces is understandable.

The same applies to his insistence on double training sessions during the club's pre-season tour to Australia and Asia. Clearly, if United are to be beaten under Moyes, it will not be in the fitness stakes.

"It (the start) could map out our whole season, which is why we are trying to get ourselves right for the opening games," he says, candidly.

"It is going to be interesting, but however the start goes, you play each team twice. We just have to play some of the better ones at the early stage, so we have to make sure we are in good in form, but the same applies to them."

One of the biggest questions facing Moyes is how he intends to handle a squad of serial winners when, an old second division title with Preston North End in 1999-2000 aside, there is a blank space next to the column listing trophies won on his managerial CV. As such, will he have to make some adjustments to his approach to account for that?

"A little bit because I'm looking at players who are winners, who have been an incredibly successful team over the years, so I've got to make sure I learn from them," he says.

"I don't know it all. I think every footballer who I've worked with judged the manager. They want to see if he can earn his stripes, they want to see if they can coach, if they can make decisions. So I think that part of football management involves the players quickly looking at things like that to see if they think you can do it.

"It's important I do that (win a trophy) and get it put to bed. And it does matter what trophy it is, because if I'd won the Singha Cup it would have been very good, but you know it wouldn't have counted."

It was inevitable that Moyes would be given a ringing endorsement by the players in public, but the same messages are being transmitted privately, despite, or maybe partly because, the 50-year-old Scot has not been afraid to administer the odd rollicking already.

"The biggest thing I've seen is their determination, it's incredible," Moyes said. "It's oozing out of them – (that desire) to continue winning. The biggest thing I've noticed is the competitive nature of Manchester United players - in training, small games, anything we do. I just see winners written all over them.

"There's not been a day when I've had people slacking off. If anything, they're enjoying it and asking for more in a way. To go back to an earlier question, they could be testing me, to see if I've got the materials to do the job, because that's what top footballers do."

Moyes has not been afraid to make changes - to the coaching staff, most obviously - but there are some things he hopes will always stay the same. It may be years before there is such a thing as "Moysie time" - "Maybe if I'm at Manchester United for 25 years I'll be able to control it (the clock) as much as Sir Alex," he jokes - but he is eager to ensure the fear factor United enjoyed under Ferguson remains.

"I want it to continue that way," he says. "I remember going there as a manager, you want to get out of Old Trafford alive. That used to be our saying, you know. It was a thrill but it was also a daunting challenge. Anybody who went there it was like, 'Oh no, we are going to Manchester United.'"

Moyes hopes not only to extend United's legacy of success but to continue the great lineage of triumphant Scottish managers.

"I think they're actually saying, 'We're passing the baton on to you, it's for you to take the baton up and be successful,' "he says. You'll do it easy? Is he sure about that?  "There's not one person who would turn around and say, 'Taking over Manchester United, you think you can breeze in there and do it easily?' "he says. "Of course not. There has to be a level of fear that comes with managing a club like this. It keeps you focused and helps to stop you from taking your eye off the ball."

The Times