Judge me in the long term, says Moyes

David Moyes heads into battle as Manchester United manager today believing the club’s controversial owners will provide the stability required for him to make a success of the job.

Moyes has already made his feelings about his tough start as United boss known and by the middle of September, the Premier League table may be looking pretty bleak if results go against him.

Yet Moyes believes the Glazer family have a long-term outlook that will not be shaken by short-term results.

“I have really good owners who don’t panic,” said Moyes.

“We have stability at the club. We know where we are going and how we work.

“There is not a panic on every time we have a defeat, not quite reaching expectations is not something to really bother yourself with.

“They see stability and continuity as really important so one-off results are not really interesting to them.”

Despite his recent hip operation, Alex Ferguson has been available for consultation too.

“He is recovering from his hip operation but I went to see him the other day,” said Moyes.

“He was great. He will be a great mentor for me. I want him to be around.”

Moyes estimates it could take him 18 months to put his own stamp on the club; a long time by modern standards but half as long as the time taken by Ferguson to turn United into sustained trophy challengers.

“At a club like Manchester United, I will get the opportunity to do that,” said Moyes.

Of course, this superior view of life is easy to adopt when your manager is unsackable and ended up winning 13 league titles.

Reactions may be different if the season does not go as planned. But the man who admitted last month he slept in his car on a knowledge gathering trip to the World Cup in 1998 so keen was he to expand his horizons, has worked hard to reach the top; even if some aspects of his new role are taking a bit of getting used to.

“Sitting in the chair for the first time felt odd,” said Moyes, of walking into what used to be Ferguson’s office for the first time.

“I did it myself with nobody looking. I thought I would have to see how it feels in case anybody thought I looked stupid. It will not get better than Alex Ferguson. It just won’t.

“But the club has to keep moving forward and progressing and I am going to work hard to maintain Manchester United at the top of the league.”