Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has claimed that Bristol City should ‘get a chance to show themselves in the Premier League’ in an interview with Bristol Live.
A former Robins player himself, Moyes has a special affinity with a club of which he has fond memories. Moyes played a key role in the club’s 1986 League Cup triumph, forming an impressive partnership in the centre of defence with current Northampton Town manager Keith Curle.
The 55-year-old took a step towards resurrecting his reputation as one of Britain’s most coveted managers last season, steering West Ham United to safety in the Premier League. The spell in charge of the Hammers followed relegation with Sunderland and dismissals at Real Sociedad and Manchester United, all of which somewhat tarnished the reputation he had gained whilst in charge of Everton.
Moyes is now unemployed and has taken time to discuss his former club and claims that he wishes to see the Robins reach the promised land:
“I think there are some real signs of progress – what the club are trying to do, the way they’re trying to move forward. I’ve always believed that Bristol City should get a chance – and hopefully they will – to show themselves in the Premier League.
“And I think the signs are that they’re going closer towards that than they have done for a long time. I think the manager is doing a good job, I think Lee’s (Johnson) doing a good job in what he’s doing and what they need to do is make small steps every year and progress to get closer to the play-offs every year and then hope they can get an opportunity.
“And obviously with the amount of money being spent in the Championship now it’s not an easy division to get out of. There’s no guarantee that anybody will do – it’s very difficult.
“I think Bristol could easily have a Premier League club and also I do think the city could probably do with it as well. It would be great for everybody there but that’s not an easy job.
“Certainly it either takes a long time because you have to build your team. Or you have to spend a lot of money and get a quicker and more instant success really.”
The current man at the helm, Lee Johnson, is also a former Robins player and has been in the hot seat since 2016. If the club’s board were to make a change, Moyes may be an option. When asked if he could see himself managing the club in the future, he gave an interesting response:
“I would never say no, that’s for sure. I was very close to becoming Bristol City manager before Tony Pulis went [in 1999] – I was close to it. I was manager of Preston at the time and I was having quite regular contact with Bristol City at the time.
“And I said okay I would do it but in the end it didn’t quite materialise or I would have been manager at that time.
“But it’s something that I would never say never to because it was such a great part of my career and I had a great rapport with the supporters and the people in the city so it was something I really enjoyed.”
Bristol City will travel to Reading on Saturday and will be keen to produce a response after last week’s home defeat to Stoke City.
