SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain -- David Moyes says the chance to work abroad persuaded him to take over at Real Sociedad and return to coaching six months after being fired by Manchester United.
Speaking at Thursday's presentation, the 51-year-old Moyes said: "it has always been a bigger ambition to coach abroad. It is the right time. I am well rested and I am ready to go.''
Moyes:I was never in any doubt about accepting.I did have a few offers,from the Premier League but Real Sociedad tugged at my heart strings"
- Real Sociedad (@RealSociedadEN) November 13, 2014
Moyes was fired by Manchester United last April, less than a year after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson as manager. Previously, Moyes established his coaching reputation after 11 seasons in charge of Everton. He signed a contract to coach Sociedad for the remainder of this season and the next, ending in June 2016.
David Moyes: "This is the best league in the world, in my opion, it's better than the Premier League" #WelcomeMoyes
- Real Sociedad (@RealSociedadEN) November 13, 2014
Moyes was quickly installed as one of the favourites to take over Sociedad following the sacking of Jagoba Arrasate at the start of the month, with former West Brom boss Pepe Mel the other front-runner.
He reiterated that he had not been having second thoughts about taking over at Sociedad, but that he wanted to make 100 percent sure it was right for his family.
He said: "I never had any doubts but a family decision has to be taken. I had great support from my dad, my wife, my children, who thought it was the right move for me at this stage of my career. So there was never any doubt, just making sure the family were supportive and everybody was looking forward to coming to live in San Sebastian.''
Although British coaches moving abroad is not a common occurrence, Moyes becomes the fourth manager from the United Kingdom to take the hotseat at Sociedad after Englishman Harry Lowe and Welsh duo John Toshack and Chris Coleman. He also follows in the footsteps of managers such as Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables in moving to Spain, with both of those enjoying successful stints at Barcelona.
Moyes does not want to compare himself with those two former England managers at this stage, but is hoping to prove he is up to the challenge of managing abroad.
"La Real have a great history of having British coaches, John Toshack, Chris Coleman, so it's not too unusual,'' he said. "Some of the greatest managers Britain have ever produced, Sir Bobby Robson, Terry Venables, they saw fit to come and manage in La Liga. Not for a minute would I be putting myself at their level, but I hope to. I hope at the end of my time here I can try and prove something and show I can come here and work in Spain.
"It's an opportunity to show British managers can go and work abroad. There isn't an abundance of them out there and I've always beaten the drum about making sure that there's British managers going to other countries, just like in the Premier League, we've got lots of (foreign) managers coming into our country.
"So hopefully, I'm the first of many and if I can come here and succeed then it'll maybe make it a lot easier for others to do so as well.
"I really feel that to come here gives me the opportunity to manage in La Liga, which I think at the present time you could say it's the best league in the world.''
Moyes has decided against bringing any backroom staff with him from the UK for the time being, and instead he will be supported by Imanol Alguacil, Erik Bretos, Karla Larburu, Roberto Navajas and Juan Carlos Samaniego, all of whom were already at Sociedad.
The Scot said his reason for that was because he wanted and needed the help of people with local knowledge
However, Moyes also confirmed he will eventually bring in his own staff and also revealed that there was no shortage of people interested in following him to Spain -- including players.
He said: "There's a lot of interest from people who would like to work here, and from players who would love to play here.''
Information from The Associated Press and the Press Association was used in this report.