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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Unwin at Goodison Park

‘Finished on a high’: Moyes hails Everton progress after Goodison Park farewell

David Moyes at the closing ceremony after Everton’s win against Southampton
David Moyes said he hopes Everton’s move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium will be the start of ‘some big things in the future’. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

David Moyes believes Everton are “a club coming back together” after the men’s team played their final game at Goodison Park. Iliman Ndiaye ­settled the match against ­Southampton, as the hosts ended one era and head into a new one at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

“I am pleased for the result, I wanted to make sure we finished [on a high]. We finish in a good enough fashion,” Moyes said.

“I think more the feeling that there might be a club which is ­coming back together. Signs that before there was a real break-up, of a sort of love affair with the supporters, the ­players, the club, the owners.

“So we’re all trying to get back. We’re obviously all looking forward to it. If we can take what we had today to the new stadium, it’ll be something.”

Moyes has steadied the ship since returning to Everton in January, ­moving the team away from serious relegation danger to mid-table safety. “Everybody’s been talking about this for so long,” Moyes said.

“I have to say, I’m sure you were there, the scenes outside the stadium were incredible, they really were.

“It felt like a club which is ­needing some big days, some big things in the future. So let’s hope this is the start of it.”

Southampton will finish bottom, with only one more match to add to their tally of 12 points. They are still without a permanent head coach but have held talks with Tom Cleverley and Will Still over the vacancy.

“It’s not my concern at the moment,” the interim manager, Simon Rusk, said. “My concern is to continue to support the players. That was what I wanted to do with these seven games in extremely tough circumstances, to be quite honest.

“Overall, with where we’ve ended with last week, getting the point [against Manchester City] that was important.”

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