David Moyes says Manchester United upheaval is departure from club values

David Moyes has said he believed Manchester United needed a long-term rebuild when he succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 and the subsequent upheaval at Old Trafford represents a departure from the club’s values. Speaking before Monday’s return to Old Trafford with Everton, Moyes admitted his 11-month spell as United manager “didn’t work for different reasons” but insisted it has been consigned firmly to the past. However, despite inheriting a title-winning squad from Ferguson, Moyes said United’s wait for a 21st league title has come as no great surprise. “I always thought when I took the job that it wouldn’t be able to be fixed quickly,” he said. “I saw not long after I went in that it was going to take a bit of time. I think also you have to remember that it was not just to do with the strength of United. It was to do with the strength of other teams; Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were all incredibly strong. They were all rebuilding and bringing in more all the time. So I think those clubs played as big a part in it as anyone else, that their quality had risen or was rising all the time.” Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Ruben Amorim is United’s sixth permanent manager since Ferguson retired and was under intense pressure before the team’s recent improvement in form. Moyes believes the managerial churn is symptomatic of a change in culture at Old Trafford. “The history of Manchester United was not that [one of change],” he said. “Manchester United had a great culture. They stuck with their managers, they brought through their own academy boys. They actually had some of the best characteristics of what you would want your club to have; good values. “Sir Alex had great values at Manchester United and, over the years, those values he established needed some time to come through as well. It was always a club with brilliant values with an understanding about bringing their young players through and developing them in the right way.” Meanwhile, Amorim has insisted “the storm is not over” for United despite his team’s five-game unbeaten run in the top flight. United have defeated Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton and drawn with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham since losing 3-1 at Brentford on 27 September. It is an encouraging sequence but Amorim is refusing to get carried away. Eleven months ago, two days after United beat Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford, the Portuguese warned “a storm will come” and was proved to be prescient as United went on to win only seven more league matches last season and finished 15th. “If you see the bottom [of the division], they have a lot of points, so everything can change in one moment. So I don’t like to say the storm is over,” said Amorim. “But we are more prepared for any storm in this moment. So let’s take this sense of urgency to every game. “It’s my job, especially in our club, to always have that feeling, that gives me the sense of urgency in every training [session]. And playing every game in the Premier League you can sense that everything can change so fast because all the teams can win any game.” Asked if United could stretch their unbeaten run to 10 games, which would involve them not losing to Everton, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Wolves and Bournemouth, Amorim replied: “We need to think to be six games unbeaten, but then unbeaten is not enough. “I came from these last two [drawn] games, but especially the last one, very frustrated. So for us it’s not enough to be unbeaten. Unbeaten is not everything, we didn’t win the last two games, so I don’t think we are unbeaten five games ago. In my mind, we don’t win a game, we are going to the third game, and the last two we didn’t win, so that is my feeling.” With Benjamin Sesko out for a number of weeks due to a knee injury he sustained in the 2-2 draw with Spurs before the international break, Amorim was asked if he regretted allowing Rasmus Højlund to join Napoli on loan for the remainder of the season. “Sometimes in these clubs it’s hard to make everyone happy – imagine that Rasmus is here, and you say if Ben has an injury, you have more time to play,” said Amorim. “It’s impossible to manage a dressing room like that, so that’s why we need to improve the kids from the academy [so] if you have an injury it is an opportunity for them.”