Football
ESPN staff 9y

Real Sociedad boss David Moyes plans future return to Premier League

David Moyes has told the Daily Telegraph he could stay at Real Sociedad for several years but said he has every intention of returning to the Premier League at some stage.

Moyes, who established himself as one of English football's leading coaches during his 11-year reign at Everton, opted to take a job in La Liga in November last year after his brief spell at Manchester United came to an end the previous season.

He said he thought the job with La Real was probably not an ideal fit when the opportunity arose given that there was interest from Premier League clubs, but he added: "The more I saw, the more I thought about it.

"There are a lot of similarities between La Real and Everton; a lot of it would fit. For me, also, it was the right place to coach again, to manage again, and also to improve myself, improve my CV.

"Could I work in Spain? Could I find another style? I'm working with some really good staff and, whenever I go back to England, I will have good contacts in Spain, I will have seen close-up Spanish players who would be good to bring to the Premier League and what types of British players are good enough."

Asked whether he will return to England, he said: "Of course, but when that is I don't know. I just want to give Sociedad every opportunity and myself every opportunity to have a good team and a successful year."

He added: "I might stay for five years, more, but I want to give myself a chance to do a full season."

While the Premier League's financial strength is the envy of Europe, La Liga tops the UEFA coefficient ranking by some distance, and Moyes said the top Spanish clubs are superior to their English counterparts.

"The top two teams in Spain would be the top two teams in England," he said. "The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City would compete for the top four in Spain, but I have to say the top half of La Liga is very, very strong.

"I'm not quite so sure of the bottom half. I don't think it's quite as good as the Premier League, but that has more to do with the financial situation."

He said that, other than the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid, it is "nearly impossible" for clubs in other countries to compete financially with their English counterparts.

However, he said the excessive spending puts managers "under even more pressure" and that "there is already proof that buying lots of players isn't always the best way to do it."

He added: "I thought last season's Premier League was as poor as I have seen and I think most people agree with that. I just didn't feel it was at the same level.

"The Premier League games I watched last season I just didn't think were special, and people watching in Spain thought that as well.

"Maybe it's missing a bit of unpredictability. Maybe we are not seeing enough young British players given a chance -- when you then have the chance to turn around and say 'hey, I've seen a good young player there, someone different, new.'

"Are we only interested in big names, big money? I'd like to think that the British audience is more educated than to believe that is always the answer."

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