21 Apr 2014

David Moyes ‘to be sacked’: Man Utd says ‘no comment’

Manchester United refuses to comment on newspaper reports that manager David Moyes is facing the sack after a series of disappointing results.

Eleven months after being handed a six-year contract as Sir Alex Ferguson’s hand-picked successor at United, Moyes is understood to have lost the backing of the clubs owners, the Glazers, and senior executives at the club, news organisations reported.

Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton – his old club – could prove to be the final straw, the newspapers reported. The 50-year-old’s reign could end before Saturday’s Old Trafford encounter with Norwich, reports suggested.

Having won the Premier League title last season, and having finished in the top two positions in the last eight consecutive seasons, Manchester United currently sit in seventh place.

Manchester United have lost eleven times this season, including twice to Moyes’ former club, Everton, twice to derby rivals Manchester City, and twice to current top of the table team Liverpool.

‘Right attributes’

Moyes made over 540 league appearances as a centre-half in a playing career that began with Celtic, where he won a championship medal.

He then played for Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town and Dunfermline Athletic before ending his playing career with Preston North End.

He became a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998, his first managerial position.Moyes became manager of Everton in March 2002 and under him the club qualified for the Champions League in 2005 and reached the 2009 FA Cup Final.

Speaking at the time of his appointment, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes.

“David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I’ve admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of assistant manager here.

“He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club.”