New Everton manager David Moyes regretted his players’ performance in possession 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 first 11-year spell at Goodison Park, Moyes oversaw his first match less than a week after the sacking of his predecessor Sean Dyche as the visiting Villans won a closely contested encounter 1-0.
“I’m under no illusions about the job I have to do,” Moyes told TNT Sports after a result that kept the Toffees one point above the relegation zone as part of a run of one goal in six league games. .
“I hate to say it, I don’t think we’ve been at our best this season” 😤
Morgan Rogers says Villa are getting back to their best after their first away win in five games 🙌
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“Tonight we couldn’t score a goal again. We have to show much more quality with the ball and play better with it.
“Tonight I was disappointed in that part; I have told the players. “We just didn’t play well enough and didn’t retain the ball as well as we should have.”
Moyes on Calvert-Lewin
Moyes had challenged Calvert-Lewin to start scoring immediately on his first day at Everton’s Finch Farm training complex, and the former England international had a presentable chance during the first half before firing over the bar from close range. during added time of the second half. .
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and is 16 games into his last goal, scoring against Aston Villa on September 14.
“It really doesn’t have much to do with David Moyes tonight, it has a lot to do with the players”
An honest assessment from David Moyes on tonight’s defeat and the expectations that await Everton 💬
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“I’ve told Dom to see if he can get into scoring positions,” Moyes said. “He can show everyone that he is a hard-working centre-forward and that he can work harder.
“He had a couple of chances tonight – he took one on the run in the first half and was a bit unlucky – it was a really good effort. In the end he failed badly, which was probably his big opportunity.”
Everton-Tottenham
Moyes attributed Ollie Watkins’ 51st-minute winner to “a small mistake and being out of position”, and praised Dyche.
Only Southampton, which is at its lowest point have won fewer games and scored fewer goals in the Premier League this season than Everton, who host Tottenham on Sunday (14:00 GMT).
“Sean had some great results at the start of the season – good draws, when we were difficult to play against,” Moyes said.
“(The players’) character always shined through when Sean was here. “They tried (tonight) but couldn’t get a result.”
