David Moyes says he is not ready to retire from football management just yet – but is prepared to be more picky with the jobs he chooses in future.
The 61-year-old Scot has been appointed an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to football, with his total of 697 Premier League games as a manager only exceeded by Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.
His managerial career has lasted more than 1,100 games across six clubs, having started at Preston in 1998 before moving on to Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham United.
Moyes has been out of the game since his second stint as Hammers boss came to an end in May. He has been linked with numerous jobs and fielded some approaches this season – but for now, is content to enjoy a break.
“I don’t consider myself done yet but I am certainly enjoying some time off,” he told BBC Sport.
“The one thing I won’t do is put any manager under pressure personally, because I don’t believe in it. I have not liked it when I have been in that position myself.
“We are all getting a little bit older and I have to make sure I am doing the right thing for myself.
“Football is in my blood. It has been since I was a boy. I love watching football and I have enjoyed my career.
“If there is another part to it, so be it. But I would only want it to be a good part. I wouldn’t want to be coming in and doing something which is very difficult.
“I don’t want to be at the bottom of the league and fighting relegation which I have had a few times, so we will see how things go.”
Moyes is completing a family double as his father, David Sr, already has an MBE.
Pictures of Moyes celebrating with his father in Prague, after West Ham had won the Europa Conference League to give the Glaswegian the first major trophy of a managerial career spanning a quarter of a century, tugged at the heartstrings.
Moyes is quick to pay tribute to the support he has received from his family throughout his career, although he did not feel that single night should determine whether he has been a success or not.
“It was a great moment,” he said. “But it was instinctive. I hadn’t won anything before so I didn’t have anything planned.
“I never thought I should be defined if I won that night or not. My career had already been a good one. It had been a long one with many ups and downs in it.
“But I think that goes for most people. I don’t think anyone’s life just goes one way. You have to live with difficulties.
“There are times when you have to dig deep and show resilience. I have certainly had to do that over the years, but winning in Prague was brilliant.”
‘Lack of British top level managers a concern’
Moyes is a longstanding member of the League Managers’ Association (LMA) and while he still has ambitions of his own, is keen to help younger bosses if he can.
He realises it is becoming increasingly difficult for British managers to get jobs in the Premier League.
Moyes himself was replaced at West Ham by former Spain and Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui, while British trio Steve Cooper, Gary O’Neil and Russell Martin have all lost their top-flight jobs in the current campaign, and been replaced by coaches from the Netherlands, Portugal and Croatia respectively.
Asked if the lack of opportunity for home-grown coaches is a concern, Moyes replied: “Absolutely.
“It is becoming much more difficult for them to get the opportunity to manage the clubs who win more and give them a chance to be successful. Eddie Howe is doing a brilliant job at Newcastle.
“The Premier League is unique. It is seen throughout the world. Every manager wants to have a go at being in the Premier League because of the intensity, support and coverage and the level of players.
“We have had some brilliant managers in this league but not all of them run the course. Pep [Guardiola, Manchester City boss] is doing a great job but there are other managers, some of the best in the world, who have not been able to stick it out in the Premier League for different reasons.
“Part of my role at the LMA I feel is to try and find or help young coaches get jobs in the big leagues in Europe.
“We have to get more managers managing in Italy, Spain, France or Germany because we have not been particularly good at getting British coaches in those leagues.”
‘Not correct to give managers less than a year’
Moyes, famously, was given a chance at one of England’s biggest clubs but lasted less than 10 months at Manchester United.
The issues which United have encountered since then paint Moyes’ difficult Old Trafford tenure in a slightly more favourable light.
While his seventh-place Premier League finish was deemed unacceptable, it was better than Erik ten Hag managed last season – and much higher than where his old club currently find themselves.
However, he resists the idea that current Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim should find himself under pressure after only 11 games.
“To say to a manager ‘We are giving you six months or a year in the job to see how you do’, I don’t think that is correct,” Moyes said.
“I think the people who put managers in place have to stand by their judgement, keep their managers and give them a chance to do the job.
“Let’s be fair, Manchester United in some ways is a one-off.
“The pressure you are under at Manchester United is greater than it is at most clubs. When you are in that role, you have to accept that is how it is going to be.
“But it is not the manager’s fault at the moment. The manager is still finding his way and trying to tiptoe into the job.”