Moyes: I always wanted an opportunity to manage abroad

Posted Monday, November 17, 2014 by Talksport.co.uk

David Moyes has told talkSPORT he was always eager to test his managerial mettle overseas, following his return to management with Real Sociedad.

The Scot, who had been out of work since his departure as Manchester United boss in April, was unveiled as the La Liga side's new head coach last week, signing a contract which runs until June 2016.

He becomes the fourth British boss of the Basque Country club, following in the footsteps of Harry Lowe, John Toshack and Chris Coleman.

And Moyes admits he jumped at the chance to sign the deal.

"I've always felt I wanted an opportunity to manage abroad," the former Everton manager said in an exclusive interview with Keys and Gray.

"When that opportunity was going to come, I didn't know, but then this came around and I just felt this was the right time for me. It gives me a chance to test myself."

He added: "It was a big decision for my family, but the job itself, that didn't take a great deal of thought."

"[Sociedad president] Jokin Aperribay said to me, 'look David, we want you to get on with it, control the whole thing, we want to change and that's why we're asking you to come here'."

"They were looking for a manager who would lead and work with the players and I think I can do that."

It seems Moyes has quite a test again of him, with Sociedad currently lying down in the doldrums of the La Liga table.

They have won just twice in their opening 11 games of the season, though those victories came over Spanish giants Real and Atletico Madrid, and are level on points with all the bottom six sides.

But Moyes is hoping he can oversee a turnaround of their form and get the side firing back up to the upper echelons of the top flight.

"There is a lot of talent here, but the team perhaps hasn't performed as well as they should have so far this season"

"A year ago I was playing against them with Manchester United in the Champions League. They qualified for the Europa League this year but didn't get through the opening stages."

"So it's my job now to bring that talent out, especially with the young players because they've got a fantastic academy system, and it's quite an exciting prospect for me to be working with top young players again."

"The only problem for me so far is that my analyst, along with everyone else at the club, can mostly just speak Spanish, so I'm looking forward to starting my lessons first thing tomorrow!"