Everton boss David Moyes on potentially reaching 40 points, relegated Ipswich and their talented manager Keiran Mckenna and the future of Dominic Calvert Lewin ahead of their Premier League clash with Ipswich
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00:00Good afternoon everyone, welcome to our pre-match press conference to preview our game against
00:06Hitchwich Town. Just before we start, a quick reminder to anyone using the mic today, if
00:11you can hold it as close as you can to your mouth, because I think people listening at
00:15home on the YouTube have not been able to always pick up the questions, so please make
00:20sure you're using the mic properly. And we'll start off with Vinny from Skype.
00:24David, I wouldn't take you over the 40 point mark, how much of an achievement would that
00:28be given the position the club was in when you took over?
00:32The position when we came in, obviously 40 points would be a great achievement if we can
00:37do that, and hopefully we can do that with the games remaining somewhere. I would like
00:43Everton to be thinking a lot higher than more than 40 points in the future, but I take your
00:47point, where we come in, it's a great position for us to be in. We've not got the stress of
00:51the remaining games and any of them having a great relevance to where we finish, but we
00:58want to keep doing well. The team have been playing well in lots of games, so we hope
01:02we can keep it up.
01:03I know we've asked about building on what you've been able to do so far this season as
01:07well. In terms of that then, and looking ahead, probably going to have to keep asking you
01:12now as well, what about decisions taken on those players who are out of contract, those
01:16lone players as well? Where are you at as regards that?
01:18Well, we're still looking, but we're also pretty strong in what we're going to do and
01:24we have an idea of what we're going to do. We're still waiting on our new CEO joining
01:29shortly and we're still in discussions doing several things, but we're, I can tell all the
01:36Evertonians that we are underway behind the scenes, but we'll keep things correct and quiet
01:43hopefully do things the right way if we can do that.
01:46One player that has been highlighted is Dominic Calvert-Lewin and that potentially he's decided
01:51that he would like to stay on Merseyside. Has he given any indication to you that that's
01:55what he's feeling at the moment?
01:56Well, I think the way the team's playing and the goals we're scoring, the chances we're
02:00making will give Dom a lot more hope that he wants to try and work his way back to the
02:05top again. And by doing that, he needs to score goals, have assists, and I think that
02:09the team might be able to give him something like that. So, he's part of that group of
02:14players who are coming out of contract who we'll discuss with and see how things go in
02:19the coming weeks.
02:20Is there any extra detail you can give? Because we know there's been a contract offer on the
02:23table. Has there been a renewal of that? Has there been anything different as regards
02:27to the coaching?
02:27Well, I can say there's not been a contract offer on the table since I've been here, Vinny.
02:31I think the contract offer was here under a different regime. So, we want everybody to have
02:36to fight for what they're doing. They have to show what they're worth. So, there's a lot
02:41of that way. We're taking a little bit of time to look at it. We've not had loads of
02:45times in January, but we've had some time. Unfortunately, Dom's been injured for a big
02:48part of it. But Dom's history has been very good. So, obviously, we'll be taking all that
02:54into consideration.
02:55Any chance of him figuring this weekend?
02:57Yeah, I'm hoping to have Dom around. He's trained this week. In truth, it would probably
03:02be too quick to put him back in. Even minutes is a little bit worrying. But I think I want
03:09to get him back involved. We've only got three or four weeks to go. I've tried to do it with
03:13a lot of the players who came back from injury. Got them back in quite quickly. Even if I
03:17sat them on the bench, they might get a bit of time. They might not. I'm not sure.
03:21That's one on forward planning. But budget-wise, have you been able to establish that?
03:25You've got a figure in mind as to the numbers that you need to get in this? I appreciate it
03:29you. I'm really a manager who I'm not really that bothered about the budget. I just want
03:35them to give me what I want. So, that's it. And if I can't get what I want, then I'll have
03:43to go for something else. I'll try something else. But I'm not really that worried. The
03:47budget word I don't really like. I'd rather be a manager who I'll bring the players to the
03:52table. And if we can get them, great. If we can't, or they're too expensive, if we can't
03:56get them, then we'll try and find something else. Can you tell us what you want?
04:00There's a lot of things we want. The big thing is to keep trying to improve. But we've
04:06been here many years ago when it was a similar situation and we had to build it a little bit
04:11bit by bit. I won't be here for 11 years this time, but I hope that I can do a similar job
04:18and start bringing Everton back up towards the top of the league. You could be here
04:21for 11 years. I could be. I could be. But my wife and myself are probably thinking, no,
04:27we'd better enjoy some time in life somewhere along the way, along the road.
04:31Two games, though, to go at Goodison. Is there, or does there feel to be, any extra pressure
04:35to get maximum points from those? Well, there's pressure in football in every game
04:39you come in. But you know you've probably covered the club over the last couple of years.
04:45The pressure the players in the club have been under in the last few years, it's been
04:49incredible. Our pressure now is to play well at Goodison for the supporters, for everybody
04:56who's been coming to the stadium for years and years, for the families who've been here.
05:01The pressure is not one of, are we going to survive or not? We have done in the job, try
05:07to play well. A little bit of freedom, but obviously a determination to do well for everybody
05:13who turns up to watch us. Thanks, David. Good luck. Cheers.
05:16Thanks, Vinny. We'll go to Ian at Premier League production.
05:18Thank you. Just on that point, David, how much do you want your players to enjoy these
05:24last couple of matches at Goodison and really savour what is an extra special circumstance
05:29for you all?
05:31Well, I think the players, I can see them in training every day. I think they're enjoying
05:34their work. I think they're obviously playing with a lot more freedom. They've not got the
05:37stress and the pressure of a relegation battle on their hands at the moment. We did have
05:43a couple of months ago, and I thought they came through it brilliantly well. They showed
05:46their colours in the games that they won in the run of unbeaten games we went on. We've
05:51just come out a really difficult run of games where we played probably a lot of the so-called
05:55top teams. So this period now gives us a chance where we'll have an equal chance than a lot
06:02of the games. We'll have to try and show what we can do.
06:04Gary McKenna said in his press conference that he's a big admirer of yours, and he admires
06:08the fact that you've been able to stay at the very top level for a long time. What do you think
06:14the most important aspect of your work has been to be able to do that?
06:18I have a huge love of the game. It's easy to say to work hard is important, but I think within
06:26my job I try and work hard when I can. I've always tried to keep improving and not sit back.
06:32I think about something which I don't think you get the job when you put your feet under
06:35the table and you think you've done a good job. I think as a manager you need to keep
06:38going. I take a little bit of pride in longevity because longevity in any type of job means
06:46that you've done quite well. I've been really fortunate to manage loads of games in the Premier
06:50League, never mind the Championship as well. I've been the manager of quite a few teams in
06:55the Premier League and that tends to be a sign that people think you're doing okay or you
07:00can do a decent job. But more importantly I'm really thankful that I've been given the chance
07:05to come back to Everton because I think maybe the time was right for, if MD was going to
07:11come back, there's a lot of brilliant managers being here over the years, but maybe the time
07:15was right for me to come back and hopefully steer the ship in the right direction. We've
07:21still got a long, long way to go, but we've started pretty well at the moment.
07:26Do you think you're the best version of you that you've ever been as a manager now?
07:30I've always said in probably all the press conferences, you've probably heard me say
07:33many times, I've said, you know, I always think the best is still to come. I've been
07:38really fortunate recently that I've been able to win a trophy, you know, I've been taking
07:42teams into Europe for the last three years in a row. So, yes, but I still hope the best
07:49is still to come and I've got to hope that the years I've got with Everton just now I
07:53can try and get something close to those levels.
07:55How do you assess it?
07:57Great, great young manager who half the country wanted last year. I said that, I think he
08:11was the only one, and I could stand corrected here, so if I'm wrong here, that I think that
08:16he's the only one who's taken a team from the First Division to the Championship to the
08:21Premier League because I thought I was going to do it when I was manager of Preston. First
08:25Division, straight up Championship, but I lost in the play-off final to Big Sam's Bolton.
08:30Kieran's been able to take the team all the way, which is an unbelievable achievement, which
08:36when you have to jump those leagues, and we're talking about, we're all talking a lot about
08:40Wrexham at the moment, how well Wrexham's doing and amazing what Phil Parkinson's done.
08:44But I think that Kieran has done that into the Premier League, which is so good. And let's
08:54just remember Ipswich as a club, if you're of a generation, when you remember the Ipswich
08:59Town's teams, they were fantastic, and they were challenging for Premier League titles.
09:03It wasn't Premier League then, but First Division titles at that time. So, he's done it at a
09:08real football club, and he'll be disappointed with this season, but I think in the main he's
09:13done a brilliant job there.
09:15Thanks, and we'll go to Julia at Radio Merseyside.
09:20Just on Dominic, I appreciate obviously you saying there's not been a contract on the
09:25table while you've been here. When Dominic Calvert-Lewin is fit, he is a prolific striker,
09:32there is no doubt about that. But it's been fitness that has been the issue. Would that
09:35come in as a concern for you going forward? Is that something you look at, especially because
09:39it's probably going to be a small squad?
09:41Yeah, I agree. I think when we come in, the biggest thing is we had about ten injuries
09:46here, which has really worried me. I'm saying, why have we got so many injuries? You know,
09:50we're here, and I think Kieran McKenna has actually got a lot of injuries, or he has had
09:54in recent weeks. You know, so it's something which we've got to make sure that we can't
09:59be bringing in players who are not going to be reliable, not going to be available.
10:03So, it's hugely important to the decision making. Are we getting the value out of the players
10:09for the game to play? So, we need people to be available. There may be other reasons for
10:15it, but at the moment, those players need to sort of show that they can make themselves
10:19robust. For us to be successful, we need all the players fit and available.
10:23It's been four Premier League wins at home this season, two games left against already
10:28relegated sides. Does that give you sort of that motivation to go out there and go out
10:33on a high at Goodison, I guess?
10:36Yeah, I mean, we're all desperate to finish our time at Goodison with great results. But
10:43I generally think that a lot of the work was done a few weeks ago when we had to beat the
10:47teams to make sure that we were in that position. If we were down to two games at home and we
10:51had to win to stay up, it would be a different press conference. It would be a much more anxious
10:55David Moyes, that's for sure. But the players have done the bulk of the work. The bit now is
11:01to see, are they going to drop their standards or are they going to keep their standards high?
11:06Because in the main, their standards have been very good. All the games have gone into,
11:10even against Chelsea last week, they've done a really good job. Not for all parts of it,
11:14but they've done a really good job. They've played really well against Arsenal here at home.
11:20So I'm more interested to see if any of them are going to drop their standards and think that that's okay for them. So let's all watch.
11:29There's been some debate on corners and set pieces and the success rate for Everton in recent weeks. Is that something that you've had a discussion with the players over?
11:38It's been rubbish. And I'd be the first to say it. So whatever discussion MD's had, I would be the first one to join in and clap my hands with them as well.
11:47What's it down to?
11:49Delivery. Probably mainly delivery at the moment, I would put it down to. I think that you don't get the ball where we're planning to work to or do something.
11:59You need the quality of delivery to be much better. Their delivery has been really, really poor.
12:04Finally from me, the 1878s are busy at Goodison, dressing it for, and this is kind of new, I think, since you returned.
12:11It wasn't necessarily here in your first stint. They do a lot of work. I just thought, what do you make of what the fans have done for Goodison as it goes out?
12:20Well, the 1878 group I got to know just recently. I think they do amazing work. You know, they really do. The stuff they put together.
12:29And I think part of making stadiums great is the atmosphere. They've gone out of their way to try and help make it better.
12:39Also, visually, how it looks. You know, I'm watching some of the semi-finals of Europa Leagues or Champions League and the atmosphere within the stadiums is incredible.
12:50The way they're setting up the theatres to take in the support and what they're doing, whether it be everybody with a scarf or everybody with plaques of some sort.
13:02So, I think the 1878 group's done a great job with the flags and just a picture of me. I'm not too sure that was the best decision.
13:11Thank you. Good luck. Cheers.
13:15Thanks, Julia. We'll go to Carl at the Press Association.
13:18Hi, Carl.
13:20Hi, Dan. Just a quick one from me. Sorry to go back to Dominic again, but you've spoken about how fitness is an important thing, particularly in his case.
13:28Just wondering how that translates to the last few games of the season for him. Does he have to show you something in those four games or is that too short a time?
13:37It would probably be unfair to put the pressure on him like that. It wouldn't be because he's obviously not fit. He's not fit as far as he's not match fit.
13:47He's not. It's huge training with the team. I think he's only now probably had three days of training with us in total. So that would be really unfair to judge him.
13:56So we wouldn't do that. It's not me who's always judging him though. Ever Torians are judging him. They all have their own thoughts on how they think he's done over the years.
14:06I'll be the one who will make the final decision. But Dom's the one who has to show us that he can be robust. He can be fit to play.
14:15Undoubtedly, he's got qualities which other strikers don't have. And he has to show us all that when he gets those opportunities, he's going to take it.
14:23The first game for me, he got my goal against Tottenham. Probably made him feel a lot better. And I do believe if he'd been around the team, I think he'd have got a few more goals.
14:32Considering you say that he can't be judged on the last four games, you want him to show he's going to be more robust. How will he be able to do that? How will he get the opportunities to do that?
14:42It's nearly an impossible question, isn't it? So we need him to become more robust. We're not getting our value out of it. So we need him to be ready to train, play, be competitive in more games than what he's been available for.
15:03Have you spoken to me about maybe a summer fitness programme or something like that?
15:08I'll tell you what, he's an incredibly conscientious boy of what I'm seeing about his body and how he keeps himself fit and how he works.
15:15He's worked privately in Germany for the last month or so to keep himself in the right shape.
15:23So he's got himself back and let's see what he's done. He'll be back in amongst the squad tomorrow.
15:30But just sort of reiterating whether he's ready to play any minutes would be a big question.
15:36Thanks Karl. We'll finally go to Will.
15:39Hi David. Premier League, it's £2.8 million per place, as high as you go.
15:43Just the prize money in terms of, I know you mentioned budgets here, you don't like that word, but I suppose that's something you can dictate if you finish higher.
15:49Does that come into your thinking in the last four games?
15:51No, it's not that I don't like it. It's the word budget when you said the budget.
15:55The £2.8 million winning prize money is different. It's a huge thing for all the teams. The incentive to win a league position.
16:02And sometimes people talk about cup competitions and all that. You don't win that prize money.
16:10That one place makes some difference over winning the league cup, for example. It doesn't match anything like that prize money.
16:17So it's so important, even every league position. So hopefully we can try and get ourselves as high up as we can.
16:27Last week at Chelsea, you said that the substitutions made a difference. So the likes of Youssef Chimiti, Dwight McNeil, Charlie Alcaraz, do they come into the thinking for this game?
16:36Ashley Young, come on, done very well as well. So they all, yeah, but I think what I'm trying to drive through here is that it won't just be 11 players, we're going to need 14, 15, certainly every game to get as results.
16:49I thought the changes at the time made a big difference. And look, we're always looking to see what's the best formation for us, what we can do.
16:58I want to also give some players opportunities to show what they're capable of. We've only got four games to go. So we'll continue to have a look at things.
17:07In terms of Alcaraz, do you still weigh a decision on him whether to make that parent in the summer to these last four games? Obviously it's not an obligation now.
17:15Yeah, yeah. We're sort of keeping our eye on it and seeing what we think. He's done some really good stuff. He's come on and made a difference sometimes in the games, which he's come on as a sub.
17:25He's in some ways a bigger impact sometimes that way. But he's done some good things for us, we have to say that, yeah.
17:32OK, thanks. Thanks, everyone. Now I'll move on.