Everton boss David Moyes has praised Saturday’s opponents Swansea for sticking to their principles and continuing their attractive brand of football in their first season in the Premier League.
The Toffees travel to Wales to face Brendan Rodgers’ side at the Liberty Stadium knowing that a win in Swansea will see them go above the league newcomers in the table.
The Welsh club were widely tipped to go straight back to the Championship after beating Reading in the play-off final in May but they have shocked the critics and now sit comfortably in eighth.
Much of their success has been down to what Moyes has described as a ‘purists’ style of football, with all their players looking comfortable on the ball and constantly looking for space off it.
This has seen them achieve famous victories against both Arsenal and Manchester City and a number of their previously little known players are now being looked at by some of the country’s biggest clubs.
The Everton boss says he is expecting a tough game at the weekend and admits that his side will need to be patient when they line-up against Brendan Rodgers’ men.
"Swansea are real purists in terms of what they want to try to do," said Moyes. "The style theyplay is great and I've admired what they have done.
"I'm looking forward to this, but it will be a tough game. We will have to make sure we try to stop the rhythm of their play, because if you don't, then they get into it.
"So you have to be aware that there will be lots of times in the game where you don't have the ball because of how well they do it" he added.
Immediately after that game the Toffees will have to prepare for a huge FA Cup quarter-final replay with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The winner will head to Wembley to face Liverpool – currently the favourites in the FA Cup final odds market.
The prospect of a Mersey derby at Wembley will surely act as a huge motivation for Moyes’ players, though I’m sure the Scot will try and ensure they remain focused on Swansea before looking ahead to the game in the north-east.
No comments:
Post a Comment