Moyes rues early season struggles

David Moyes says he would not have paid to watch Everton in the first half of the season because of his side’s lacklustre form.

Everton recorded their third successive home win with a 2-0 victory against Chelsea on Saturday, which moved them up to tenth in the Premier League.

However, they had endured a difficult start to the season and fell as far as 17th place in November, after suffering five defeats in six matches.

“I don’t think we were offering enough to the public or playing well enough,” Moyes told The Times.

“The crowds were down – I’d not have come to watch because what I was giving the supporters wasn’t enough.”

“I needed to find another solution but that has to come with an understanding of who we’re playing, what tactics we have to use.”

“So I had to do it for that reason and in the main we have found a way of winning. I knew that in the summer but I was unable to do so. I said it was going to be a real tough year for us, and it is still.”

Loan signing Steven Pienaar scored the opening goal on Saturday and fellow January arrivals Landon Donovan and Darron Gibson also featured heavily in the impressive performance.

But it was close-season signing Denis Stracqualursi, scorer of Everton’s second goal, who received special praise from his manager after his maiden strike on Merseyside.

The Argentine signed on a season-long loan from Mexican side Tigre towards the end of the transfer window, but started his first match for the club in January.

“He’s changed everyone’s minds,” Moyes said of the tall forward.

“He’s given us an energy maybe we were lacking and that’s got us back to the Everton who are hard working, and early in the season you could not say that was the case.”

“Early in the first half when the ball went through to the goalkeeper and he chased it down, then the next player did the same.”

“That got the crowd up, the players pick up on it and it gives everyone a real lift. Denis was the one who started it all off, doing the basics of hard work, and chasing everything to win it back.”