New Everton manager David Moyes slammed his players’ possession performance against Aston Villa — and reiterated his desire to help out-of-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin score again.
Twelve years after leaving the club following his 11-year first spell at Goodison Park, Moyes oversaw his first game less than a week after his predecessor Sean Dyche was sacked as the away Villans won a fierce match with a score of 1-0.
“I have no illusions about the job I have to do,” Moyes told TNT Sports after the result kept the Toffees a point above the relegation zone on a run of one goal in six league matches.
“I hate to say it, I don’t think we were the best this season” 😤
Morgan Rogers says Villa are back to their best after their first away win in five games 🙌
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We couldn’t score again tonight. We have to show a lot more quality with the ball and play better with the ball.
“I was disappointed with that part tonight; I told the players that. We just didn’t play well enough and keep the ball the way we should have.”
Moyes on Calvert-Lewin
Moyes challenged Calvert-Lewin to start scoring straight away on his first day at Everton’s Finch Farm training complex, and the former England international had a good chance during the first half before firing over the bar from close range in second-half stoppage time. .
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and has played 16 games since his last goal, against Aston Villa on September 14.
“It’s not a big deal with David Moyes tonight, there’s a lot to do with the players”
David Moyes’ honest assessment of tonight’s defeat and the expectations ahead of Everton 💬
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“I told Dom to see if he could get himself into scoring positions,” Moyes said. “He can show everyone that he is a really valuable centre-forward and that he can do more.
“He got a couple of chances tonight – he took one on the run in the first half and was unlucky, it was a really good try. He had a pretty big miss at the end, which was probably a big opportunity for him.”
Everton vs Tottenham
Moyes attributed Ollie Watkins’ 51st-minute winner to “a little mistake and a lack of position”, adding praise to Dyche.
Only the lowest Southampton they have won fewer games and scored fewer goals in the Premier League this season than Everton, who host struggling Tottenham on Sunday (1400 GMT).
“Sean got some great results at the start of the season – good draws, when we were tough to play against,” said Moyes.
“Character [of the players] she always glowed when Sean was here. They tried [tonight] but I just couldn’t get the result.”
