Nobody would have done better than me at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson, says David Moyes

David Moyes doesn’t look back in anger.
Four years ago, the 54-year-old Glaswegian was
discovering that the task of succeeding Sir Alex
Ferguson as manager of Manchester United was not
the dream job it was cracked up to be.
A spell in charge of Real Sociedad followed and also
ended with the sack despite Moyes delivering on his
brief to keep the Spanish club in La Liga.
And after a season at Sunderland ended in relegation,
the man who had once kept Everton punching above
their weight for more than a decade decided to walk
out of the Stadium of Light after the financial plight
of the Wearside club was laid bare.
“Small margins,” is a term that Moyes uses regularly
as he looked back on a period of his career that he
insists has only made him stronger for the challenges
he hopes still await.
It is especially true of his time at Old Trafford – and
the claim made recently by Jose Mourinho that United
“failed to evolve” in the three years between ­
Ferguson retiring and his arrival in Manchester.
Moyes said: “Jose has his opinion, but there was
always going to be a transitional period after Sir
Alex’s time was over.
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“There was a changing of the guard. Not only did I
replace Alex, David Gill had also stepped down as
chief executive and Ed Woodward came in.
“So it was always going to take time. Yes, I took over
the champions, but clubs like Chelsea and Man City
spent huge amounts of that money that summer in a
bid to overtake us.
“And it was difficult for me to go into Old Trafford and
rip up the team that had just ran away with the title.
“Having said that, things would have been a lot
different if we had landed our main transfer targets.
“We were in for Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas. They
were genuine targets, but for one reason or another
we didn’t get them over the line. Getting them would
have been the perfect start in terms of reshaping the
squad I inherited.
“Having said that, I accept totally that when you are ­
manager of Manchester United, you have to win. I
didn’t win enough. But I don’t think there is a
manager out there who would have been able to do
something better or quicker in the time I was given
after Sir Alex retired. It was all about small margins.”
The team Moyes left behind when he was relieved of
his duties – with four games of his first season
remaining – finished seventh. Mourinho’s United
ended last term in sixth.
Both men began their tenures by lifting the
Community Shield. “I always maintained that trophy
belonged to Sir Alex because it was his team,” said
Moyes.
Mourinho won the Capital One Cup; Moyes’ men were
beaten by Sunderland on penalties in the semi-finals.
And while Mourinho also lifted the Europa League,
Moyes took United to the Champions League quarter-
finals before three goals in the last 30 minutes at
Bayern Munich brought elimination.
During his brief spell, Moyes spent just under
£65million on Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata – two
players who are still key to Mourinho. Successor Louis
van Gaal splashed almost £315m during his two
seasons at the club.
And Mourinho has lavished £260m in just three
transfer windows – including a world-record fee for
Paul Pogba, another £75m on Romelu Lukaku, as well
as handing Zlatan Ibrahimovic a deal worth a
staggering £367,000-a-week.
Moyes is philosophical, and said: “I have no regrets
about taking the United job. When you get offered a
job like that you take it. When you compare my
season to what Jose achieved last season it is about
those small margins.
“United were always going to have to go though a
difficult time when Alex left.
“You only have to see how much money they have
spent over the last three years just to build a team
capable of challenging for the title again to see how
difficult the job was.”

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