David Moyes says it is “a great honour” to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United adding that it will be hard to follow “the best manager ever”.
Moyes will take the Manchester United reins from 1 July, the club said, after being unanimously approved by the Manchester United board.
In a statement on the Manchester United website, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes.
“David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I’ve admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of assistant manager here.
I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn’t something that comes around very often. David Moyes
“He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club.”
Moyes said it was a “great honour” to be asked to be the next Manager of Manchester United.
He added: “I am delighted that Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I have great respect for everything he has done and for the Football Club.
“I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn’t something that comes around very often and I’m really looking forward to taking up the post next season.”
The early reaction from within the dressing room will give Moyes cause to smile, with influential duo Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick both offering fulsome praise for the appointment.
Ferdinand, as one of the playing staff’s elder statesmen, was pleased both by the swift nature of the decision and the identity of Ferguson’s replacement.
“It was important the club made a decision quickly and got it all sorted before people could start making rumours. The club have acted impeccably in that respect,” he told MUTV.
“It’s great to see the new manager coming in, we’ve never had a problem with him here at United, he’s a very honest man from the players you speak to and he’s done a fantastic job at his previous club Everton.”
Carrick has also been impressed by Moyes’ body of work at Everton and is eagerly awaiting the start of a new era.
“He’s done a terrific job at Everton,” said the England midfielder.
“He’s been there a long time and has had great success with the resources he’s had. It’s obviously a big change because this club’s been run for so long by one person.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting him and getting good training in pre-season and looking forward to a good future.”
In the four top tiers of English football, David Moyes is the third longest serving current manager, behind Sir Alex’s 26 years at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger’s 16 years at Arsenal.
The former Celtic, Bristol City and Preston North End defender has been with Everton for 11 years – but in that time he has not secured any silverware. The closest he has come to a trophy was a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the final of the FA Cup in 2009.
Moyes has managed 750 games in his managerial career, which began at Preston North End, and has won 330 of them, a success rate of 44 per cent.
By comparison Sir Alex has won 1,206 of the 2,060 games he has managed – a success rate of 58.5 per cent.
Moyes’ time at Everton, however, is not one that has been judged on silverware, but by successes with a financially limited club in top flight football. He has earned praise from Sir Alex, Arsene Wenger and Kenny Dalglish for his achievements.
Indeed, in 2010 it was reported that Sir Alex had endorsed Moyes as his successor on the United manager’s eventual retirement.
The 50-year-old Scot is three times winner of the League Managers’ Association’s manager of the year award.