FOOTBALL : Everton manager David Moyes will tell his players to go out and put on a show at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
Everton manager David Moyes will tell his players to go out and put on a show at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
The Toffees have not won at the home of Manchester United since the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992 and, while Moyes admits the 76,000-capacity venue is a daunting place to go, the Everton boss has called on his squad not to allow United to capitalise on home advantage.
“That’s why you hear Sir Alex Ferguson saying it is not only about being good players, is about going out there and performing and not freezing,” said the Scot. “Do you have an act when you go on stage? If you’ve not got one at Old Trafford it shows you up.”
He added: “It’s the same for the opposition. You have to go out there and be able to perform.
“But the reason it becomes difficult is because of the level of player you are coming up against and Manchester United have a high quality of player.
“I’m not there to entertain, I’m there to win. If I can entertain I will but going to Old Trafford is always a hard game.”
Everton’s record against United is not the best, with their only Premier League victory in the last 14 years coming at Goodison Park in April 2005, although they did beat them on penalties in the FA Cup semi-final last season.
United have won three of the last four league encounters by the odd goal, with the exception being last season’s 1-1 draw on Merseyside.
Moyes is taking heart from those performances.
“The games have been pretty close – we’ve lost several of them but they have been quite tight and it has always given us a chance,” he said. “Hopefully this time maybe we can come out on top.”
