David Moyes has described cup competitions as “hugely important” ahead of Everton’s Carabao Cup second-round tie at Preston North End on Wednesday, insisting his desire to do well in them is no different to normal.
The tie marks an emotional return to the club that shaped him as a player and manager. It also represents one of the best opportunities for him to add to his legacy at Everton if his current contract, which expires next summer, is not extended.
Moyes on cup importance
Speaking after the season-opening Premier League win at Crystal Palace, Moyes made clear his intent to take both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup seriously. “Of course we all want to win the cups. Yes the cups are hugely important, would it be more important than staying in the Premier League? I’ll ask you the question: Is winning a cup more important than staying in the Premier League? What would your answer be? Of course we want to do well in the cups, I can’t think of any manager who wouldn’t want a good run in the cups,” he said.
His comments came days after chief executive Angus Kinnear publicly set out Everton’s goals for the season: competing for Europe in the league and challenging for a trophy that would end a silverware drought stretching to 32 years if there is no breakthrough this season.
Kinnear’s trophy ambition
“Newcastle, Crystal Palace, have shown that it is achievable of clubs who are ambitious but [where] winning a Premier League or winning a European cup is hard. We have definitely had discussions with ownership and with David [Moyes] about how we use the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup to give something for the fans to really cheer and get behind and be proud of,” Kinnear said.
Scrutiny will be applied to Moyes’ team selection given his and Kinnear’s commitment to taking the competition seriously. Everton were dumped out of last season’s Carabao Cup by a struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round, despite having won at Molineux in the league earlier that season. A heavily-changed Blues suffered a meek defeat, one of the lowest points of the campaign.
Team selection and injuries
Asked whether he would rotate his squad, Moyes said he had not thought about it when dealing with the topic on Saturday. He is set to be without Christian Norgaard and Tim Iroegbunam through injury, while James Garner is still some way from being ready to start after returning from groin surgery to come off the bench against Palace.
“I did it last year and we didn’t win at Wolves. Our first game was Mansfield and we have a much, much tougher game against Preston. They are a good side and it is me going back to where I started as well. We also have a lot of players who are looking as if... Tyler Dibling is playing better, Keano and Big Jake are around. We have a lot of players who could be classed as first team players, but I have not even thought about it, I was more keen on getting this game played and over,” Moyes said.
