Lescott rejects Moyes criticism over City move

Joleon Lescott has rejected claims from David Moyes that he lost interest in playing for Everton after having his head turned by the prospect of a big money move to Manchester City.

Speaking on Tuesday after finally completing his 22-million-pound move, Lescott said he did not want to dwell on what Moyes had said about his “poor attitude” in the final weeks of what was the most protracted and acrimonious transfer saga of the close season.

“I was disappointed in the comments, I feel they’re inaccurate,” Lescott said of his former boss. “I’d like to address them at a later date and talk more positively about my move here.”

Lescott, who effectively forced through the move by demanding a transfer, played below his usual standards in Everton’s 6-1 defeat by Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League season and was subsequently dropped for the Merseyside club’s Europa League opener against Czech club Sigma Olomouc.

But he insisted he had not been affected by the transfer situation and rebuffed Moyes’s claim that he had let down his former team-mates.

“I don’t think I disrespected any of the (Everton) players. If I did I apologise,” he said. “I’d like to think they thought I gave my all when I played.

“I know it wasn’t my finest game for Everton (against Arsenal). It was a collective effort and obviously Arsenal were better than us on the day.”

Lescott, 27, is the eighth new player to be signed by City since the end of last season and his fee takes Mark Hughes’s summer spending spree to over 120 million pounds.

The England defender can operate at left-back but has been bought as a centreback and is expected to partner former Arsenal star Kolo Toure in Hughes’s first-choice XI.

Lescott said he was relishing the prospect of getting down to work with his new team-mates.

“I know some of the lads already – I’m close friends with Shaun (Wright-Phillips), we’ve played against each other since we were 16 or 17. The way this club is moving on, I’m really looking forward to being a part of that.”

Hughes described Lescott as a defender of “the very highest quality,” adding: “He can play in a number of defensive positions, and I’m positive he will make a significant impact for us.”

The arrival of Lescott could signal the departure of City’s club captain, Richard Dunne, who is believed to be a possible target for Aston Villa.

Lescott’s former team-mate, Tony Hibbert, meanwhile has insisted that Everton can deal with the loss of the defender, just as they bounced back from the sale of Wayne Rooney to Manchester United in 2004, finishing that season fourth in the Premier League.

“He’s a big loss. He was a great player for us, Joleon, and a great lad as well,” Hibbert said.

“It’s just one of those things – players come and players go, that’s football really. You have friends but the next minute they can go. We’ve just got to get over it.”