Moyes excited by Merseyside derby as Everton travel to neighbours Liverpool
01/04/2025
Finch Farm training Centre, Liverpool, UK
01/04/2025
Finch Farm training Centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our pre-match press conference to preview our game against Liverpool.
00:05We'll start off with Vinnie from Sky.
00:07David, first of all, can we check on Mikulanko? How serious is the injury he picked up?
00:12Well, he's got a bit of an injury, but he's back.
00:13He came in and he did a bit of training yesterday, so we're hopeful that he'll be OK.
00:18But we still have to wait and see tomorrow exactly how he is.
00:22What about getting anyone back?
00:23Obviously, McNeil and I, they've been training.
00:26Yeah. How far along are they?
00:29They're doing great, actually. Both of them are coming on great.
00:32Ellie's a little bit further on than Dwight at the moment,
00:36but it's great that they're back in training.
00:39In the main, it's helped us a little bit with having Dom out as well,
00:44but Dom's the only one who's really behind it a little bit at the moment.
00:47Dom, we're just waiting on him coming back. The rest are all getting much closer to fitness.
00:52When you say behind it, he's not...
00:53I don't mean behind. I just mean behind those ones and coming back just now.
00:56The likes of Ellie and Dwight are certainly getting closer.
01:02With Dom, have you got any dates in mind as to when he could be back?
01:04No, I've not got a date with Dom yet, but he's back.
01:08He's on the grass, so good signs that he's getting closer to it.
01:12Just during the international break, obviously, there was talk of Jared Brantway and his future.
01:16Has there been any mention to you from him that he feels he needs to play elsewhere to enhance his England prospects?
01:22And if he did feel that way, what would you say to him?
01:24I would say to him, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Joel and Les Scott.
01:30That's three who we brought in who went on to become international players for England,
01:34which was a great achievement.
01:36I think Jared's in that position where he could easily go on and do that.
01:40I see it as a challenge for Jared to pick up and say,
01:43come on, I'm going to show what I can do.
01:44But I think this club's developed quite a few England internationals, to be honest, over the years,
01:49and we've got a very good goalkeeper who's playing for England as well.
01:52And he's not come to you and said that either, I take it?
01:54No, no, so we'll get on with it.
01:58Nine games unbeaten, longest run without defeat since February 2017.
02:03Only five sides across Europe's big five leagues have managed to avoid league defeats during that period as well.
02:09Scored in nine successive league matches, having scored just one in the previous six.
02:12What does that say about the job you're doing?
02:15Well, it says that the club and the team are certainly in a better trajectory than we were before.
02:23We've started really well.
02:24The players have done a brilliant job.
02:26You know, there's a lot that can be said.
02:27You know, the managers come in when we're jobs, they get them playing.
02:30But I have to say the players have picked themselves right up.
02:33You know, they've turned the whole place around, the crowd, the support,
02:37and they've gone in the run, which has been really, really good.
02:39And actually, you know, we're a bit disappointed with a couple of the draws in there,
02:43which we didn't get victories.
02:45There might be a couple of draws in there, which we could have been a bit lucky with.
02:47But overall, I think the players have got everything they deserve.
02:52They've got the results and we want to keep it going.
02:55Did you think it could happen that quickly?
02:57Honestly, no, I didn't think that because really when you're down there,
03:00why would you suddenly go in such a run?
03:02You know, you very rarely see maybe the teams at the bottom having such a big run.
03:05They might win a couple of games,
03:07but we've had some brilliant results at home and away and long may that continue.
03:13Looking ahead to this Merseyside derby, we spoke to Arnaud Slot earlier
03:17and he said he's not expecting a lot of difference from the first game from either side.
03:20So, how do you see it yourself as well? Are you expecting similar?
03:24Well, I think Liverpool's league position would tell you that,
03:27you know, how they're playing is what they'll probably do.
03:30They've been in a great position.
03:33They've had a couple of really tough games, whether it be PSG
03:36in a tough game against Newcastle.
03:37So, that can happen. No team's entitled to win all the games in football.
03:42So, it's a big game. It always has been for us to go to Anfield and try and get a result.
03:46Always been incredibly difficult to get there and get a result.
03:49But we go again. We've got another chance to try it again.
03:52When it is two local rivals,
03:54and we know the frenetic nature of these games as well,
03:56how difficult is it to spring a surprise on the opponents anyway?
04:00Well, I think we're getting late in the season.
04:01I don't know if there's many surprises.
04:02You know, some teams might have players back from injuries.
04:04Some might not. Some may have injuries themselves.
04:07I don't think there's huge surprises in the Premier League teams too often nowadays.
04:14I think it's another Merseyside derby and a game we'll look forward to going and trying to win.
04:20What does this fixture mean to you?
04:21What would it mean to get that first Merseyside derby victory for yourself at Anfield?
04:25Well, it would be huge for us as a club to get that
04:27because it's not something that the club here have done particularly often.
04:30It's always been difficult.
04:32I remember going with a few draws here, which I remember well.
04:36It's always tough, but it's not just us.
04:39It's tough for a lot of clubs,
04:40whoever it's been in the Premier League, to go there and get results.
04:42Thanks, David. Good luck. Cheers.
04:44Thanks, Finny. We'll go to Simon.
04:46Are you sick of Anfield?
04:47You don't need reminding of your record there.
04:50Am I sick of it?
04:52I'd be lying if I said that I look forward to going to it all the time
04:56because it's been such a hard place to get results,
04:58but that's nothing to do with the surroundings,
05:01nothing to do with the pitch, nothing to do with anything else.
05:04It's to do with that they've always had good teams.
05:06They've always produced good teams,
05:07and I think every team in the Premier League,
05:10whenever they go to Anfield, has got a game in their hands.
05:13You're in good company in terms of that record.
05:15Sir Bobby Robson never won a game in his 24 visits, I think.
05:18Is that right? Oh, well, good.
05:20I'm glad to hear that.
05:21Then I'll be bringing his name up a few more times.
05:26You've been involved, or you've watched,
05:28or you've managed in plenty of different derbies all around the country and abroad as well.
05:34How do these compare?
05:35How does the Merseyside derby compare to every one that you've been involved in?
05:40I actually think the Merseyside derby in many ways is slightly different.
05:43I know that there's a big competition with the two clubs,
05:48but I actually think there's a big thing that a lot of Liverpool supporters I meet are thrilled
05:52that we're going the right direction
05:54and there's a chance there'll be more Merseyside derbies rather than none.
05:59So I think in many ways,
06:01I think the city, you quite often find this city's got half the family are Everton supporters,
06:06another half could be Liverpool supporters.
06:10And from that point, I think it makes it slightly different to derby here.
06:14I mean, I've been involved in other derbies, derby in Glasgow, derbies in London,
06:19derbies in Manchester, and I think they're slightly different in that way.
06:21I think that this city has lots of family members who could quite easily be a blue or a red.
06:27And just finally for me, the next five games for you now are the one of each of the top five.
06:33Yeah, I mean, it doesn't get any tougher than that, does it?
06:36No, it doesn't. But I tell you what, I'm actually looking forward to it
06:39because I think the team's done so well in the games and they've played,
06:43they've been competitive, they've challenged.
06:45I think I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing how we take the challenge on and what we can do.
06:50We're not mathematically safe yet,
06:53but we're certainly in a really good position
06:55and that gives us a lot of opportunity to go into those games without feeling about it.
06:59You know, let's go and see what we can do.
07:00Let's see if we can challenge them.
07:02We won't go in with as much fear or worry about the whole outcome at the end of it.
07:08But as I said, we still have got a little bit of mathematical work to do to make sure we're safe.
07:13Cheers. Thanks Simon, we'll go to Karl. Hi Karl.
07:17Hi, just on Annie, you spoke about the Anfield and what it's like for you to go there,
07:23but what is the feeling you get going to Anfield yourself?
07:27And have you ever had that feeling going to any other ground?
07:33From going to the Etihad to play Man City and going to play the big teams is always difficult.
07:38You know, you're always hoping that you can get a favourable result.
07:43Let's be fair, most of the teams have been very good.
07:44I think in the early days here, it was going to Old Trafford to play against Sir Alex's team,
07:49where I know everybody was saying, how could we get a result?
07:51So Anfield's always been like that.
07:54And actually with the Derby here over the years, it's been difficult.
07:58We might be further away from Liverpool than we've ever been at the moment.
08:03I think by the time we had left here, I don't know how many years ago it was, maybe 10 years ago or so,
08:08I think we were much closer to Liverpool.
08:11I think we were competitive, we were competing around the same areas in the league at the time.
08:17But I think at the moment, it's probably been the biggest gulf between the two clubs.
08:22You saw a touchpoint before, they had two defeats in the week before the international break.
08:27Do you see any extra, any vulnerability in them now that they weren't the first time you met them?
08:34Well, I think they won just about all their European games.
08:36I think they probably have found themselves getting to a final, which is great.
08:42We talk about the finals.
08:44If we always thought it was going to be one team who won it, then we'd hardly be worth playing it.
08:48So I think there's always a chance that you can lose a final, no matter what.
08:52And I think Newcastle were just that bit needing it and probably a bit more hungry on the day.
09:01Thanks, Carl.
09:05Hi David.
09:05Hi there.
09:06You mentioned Liverpool have always had good teams.
09:09How does this one compare to the ones that you've seen in the past?
09:13Well, I think this team Liverpool have got at the moment, I'm not an expert on,
09:16but I think when JĂĽrgen left, I think we were probably all a bit surprised how well Arnie Slott's done.
09:23Because I think that quite often, moving from a way of a dynasty of a manager can be quite difficult.
09:30But I think he's settled in really, really well, giving them another go.
09:36They've not dropped off, that's for sure, from where they were.
09:40I always look back, when you look back over years and years,
09:44there's always been good players at Liverpool and they've still got good players just now.
09:48Not wanting to bang on about the record, but does it weigh heavily on your mind when it comes around?
09:55Yeah, I don't want it. I want to win.
09:59I want to win and I want to make sure that I get rid of it if I can, that's for sure.
10:07Yeah, so the game presents an opportunity to try and get rid of the record.
10:11Every time we go there, we get another chance to do so, yeah.
10:14You've had a couple of weeks to prepare for the game.
10:16Have you had any considerations about deploying any tactics to try and stop Mohamed Salah?
10:22Yeah, we could try and build a wall or something and stop him and do all sorts of things to see if we can.
10:30But he's such a talented player, he has been.
10:34But we've done quite a good job on him in the first game,
10:38so we'll have to hope that we can do something similar again in this game.
10:41We've seen some great players come and go in the Premier League, putting some incredible numbers up.
10:47How do you rate the season that he's having this time around?
10:51He's having an unbelievable season for Liverpool.
10:55But let's be fair, we're talking about one of the top Premier League players of this generation anyway.
11:03And it's not just this season, he's been so consistent over most seasons, scoring plenty of goals, plenty of assists.
11:08Looks as if he plays nearly all the games, very rarely injured.
11:12So he's been an excellent player for Liverpool.
11:15When he does leave in the All Blacks, he'll go down as one of the greats of the Premier League?
11:21Yeah, we'll enjoy taking him to the airport and getting him on the plane and getting him out.
11:33The last one was very dramatic at Goodison, the Merseyside derby, with pretty much the last second or so, wasn't it?
11:40The equaliser.
11:41Did you feel you learned a lot about your side in that game?
11:45You'd said you wanted to restore that fighting for the club.
11:48Is that where you thought, yeah, these players have got it?
11:50I think for us to be competitive against Liverpool was a big thing.
11:54And look, we deserved a draw in the night.
11:56We certainly did.
11:57We'd done enough to earn that and worked for it.
12:01And when you think of where the differences in the two teams have been,
12:03Liverpool have been mainly at the top of the Premier League all season and we've been very close to the bottom of the league.
12:08So it was great that we were able to pull that gulf between the teams much closer together.
12:14I thought the players done a great job.
12:18And we're hoping to do it again.
12:20That's the job.
12:21We know we're playing against a good side, but we also think that we've got a lot of confidence at the moment.
12:26We've got a lot of good results.
12:28We've been playing well in many aspects.
12:31So we need to keep that going.
12:33Discipline was in the headlines after the derby as well, on both clubs as well.
12:38It's always such a fiery game, this one, with the greatest will you can say to players, keep a cool head.
12:43How difficult is it as a manager to keep reminding of that for 90 minutes?
12:48Well, I think that it's a game where everybody enjoyed.
12:52I mean, the media, everybody, the supporters, everybody.
12:55I think even Liverpool supporters in many ways enjoyed the game.
12:58We didn't enjoy the end, but I think it was a game which, you know,
13:03folk were saying we're having a bit of this and we're enjoying it.
13:07But I just think that these games can do that.
13:10Other derbies do as well.
13:12But also, you know, the game was allowed to flow correctly.
13:15We didn't have stoppages for everything because it was the case then,
13:19if the game is refereed that way in this country, then it's not what we do.
13:23Our culture is slightly different.
13:25This last run then, you're on 34 points right now ahead of these five fixtures against the top five, as we're saying.
13:32Do you have a target that you think might mean that you are safe?
13:37I hope that maybe we are at the moment, to be honest, you know.
13:41But the truth is it's not there.
13:43That's not there. Mathematically, we can't.
13:45And I know what the other teams at the bottom will be doing.
13:48Every game for them will be having to win.
13:51So we have to try and win our games.
13:54But I think there's a little bit more than that.
13:56I'm now beginning to say, come on, as I said earlier,
13:59I'm hoping to try and see how we do against other games.
14:02We are not expected to be winning the games in some of the teams we're up against.
14:07But I think that we've got a chance in a lot of the games.
14:10I really do. I think that we've been doing a lot of good things.
14:12And if we can keep it going, you know, if we can try and spring one or two surprises along the way, that'll be great.
14:17Speaking of good things, Idrissa Garnaghey has got the most tackles in the Premier League right now.
14:22He's 35. He's coming to the end of his contract here.
14:25Firstly, just how much of a quality player is he?
14:28And is he someone you would love to take to the new stadium?
14:31Well, what I do know about him is I've only been here a couple of months to work with him.
14:36And I think that he's been terrific in the games.
14:40He plays younger than what he is at times in many ways.
14:43So he's someone who's played well for us. He really has.
14:46And I understand how well he's done.
14:48We just need to keep going.
14:50We won't be making any decisions on contracts until we are mathematically safe.
14:54So we'll have a look at all that when we get to that point.