LONDON: David Moyes, newly-appointed as Sunderland’s ninth manager in eight years, has said he believes he treated unfairly during his unsuccessful 20 months at Manchester United.

The Scot was sacked less than a season into a six-year contract after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, with United finishing that 2013-14 campaign outside the European places in seventh.

He then struggled at Spanish side Real Sociedad as well while United made only limited improvements under his successor Louis van Gaal, finishing fourth and then fifth before the Dutchman gave way to Jose Mourinho this summer.

Moyes maintains he was the right man for the job after Ferguson’s departure, having led Everton from the lower reaches of the Premier League into European contention.

He said: “You don’t get offered those big jobs – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United – for no reason. I’ve said all along I was unfairly treated there.

“I didn’t win enough football matches but you must say there were mitigating circumstances. And I think you could say there are maybe things which have gone on since then that would actually justify that even more so.

“What my time at Manchester United gave me is an unbelievable idea of what it is at the top. I believe that’s where I can work and that’s where I should be working, and my level is that.”

The experience has not stopped him considering transfer moves for his former United players Marouane Fellaini – who also played under him at Everton – and Adnan Januzaj.

Transfer targets

Moyes, appearing before the media for the first time since replacing England boss Sam Allardyce as Black Cats manager, said he was moving quickly to bring reinforcements to the Stadium of Light.

He added: “If any of those good players want to join me I’d be happy to have them,” said Moyes when quizzed about the pair. “They’re excellent players. We’re interested but I’m sure there’s a load of other clubs that are as well.”

Sunderland have yet to make a single addition to their first-team squad since narrowly avoiding relegation from the Premier League, with departures and injuries leaving them worryingly light on numbers with less than a fortnight to go before the start of the new season.

Moyes thinks that is partially down to the Football Association’s pursuit of Allardyce but vowed to bring with him the acumen he showed at Goodison Park.

He said: “We’ll get signings in. If you look at the transfers we had at Everton I think we had the best transfer record of any club anywhere in the Premier League. I hope to somehow replicate that in my time at Sunderland.

“Can I do that right away? No. It’s not as easy now as it was before. You’re not going to change it in one transfer window. What we want to try and do is get the right players at the right price, like we did in the early days (at Everton). Players who we think can go the journey with us.”

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