How David Moyes has quietly rewired Everton’s psychology
On the eve of another huge Premier League test, the story around Everton shouldn’t just be about systems, selections or xG. It should be about something deeper – a change you can feel before a ball is kicked. It should be about David Moyes’ mentality shift. This is not the Moyes of clichés – “pragmatic”, “rigid”, “survival-first”. This is a manager who walked back into Everton and has calmly, quietly reset the psychology of the club: the way his players think, the way they approach big stages, the way they handle adversity, the way they attack. And as he spoke before Newcastle, the picture that emerged was of a coach operating with real class and control, reshaping a group in his image without ever needing to raise his voice in public.
A manager of class and calm
There was humour. There was warmth. There was steel.
In a press conference that drifted from light-hearted jokes about colleagues and TV work to serious questions about red cards, internal discipline and January speculation, Moyes never once lost his composure. On the issue of a sending off – sparked by team-mates arguing and an FA rejection that left many football people baffled – he didn’t throw anyone under the bus. He talked about the reality of the modern game: soft red cards, soft penalties, and the need to judge each case on its own merits rather than hammering players for the sake of optics.
If there is action, he made clear, it will be handled internally. Quietly. Properly. The Everton way under Moyes. He expects standards, but he also understands context. A red card doesn’t automatically make a player a villain. A mistake doesn’t erase months of hard work. That balance – discipline without public humiliation – is exactly the kind of psychological environment players respond to.
On transfers, too, there was the same refusal to play the media game. In a “silly season” of rumours, he reminded everyone that serious clubs don’t broadcast their targets. Speculation isn’t coming from him, or from Everton. The message was simple: we do our work in-house, we keep our heads clear, and we focus on what we can control.
That’s psychology. That’s leadership.
Old Trafford: a mentality turning point
If you want one night that captures the Moyes mentality shift, you start at Old Trafford. A Monday night. The only game on. The world watching. A ground where Everton “haven’t had the best record” in recent years. Then reduced to ten men. Most teams would have folded. Everton didn’t.
Moyes admitted what everyone inside the club already knew: this was more than three points. It was a statement – to his players, to the league, and to those who still underestimate his work.
He spoke about the significance with a calm pride:
- Winning at Old Trafford with ten men – a mental Everest in itself.
- Doing it against a Manchester United side “seen as on the up”, pushing towards the top positions.
- Using that stage, that broadcast, as a chance to “show something” different about Everton.
He talked about the table being tight, about how two wins can shoot you up and two defeats can drag you down, but underneath all the realism was a clear message: Everton are trying to get back on the map.
Not as plucky survivors. Not as a side just trying to “keep their heads above water”. As a club that can go to Old Trafford, play with personality, suffer with ten men, and still walk away with the result.
That is not just tactics. That is mentality.
“I’m glad you used the word mentality”
The most revealing moment came when Moyes was directly asked about this shift – the more front-foot approach seen against Spurs, Fulham, and again for long spells at Old Trafford. The word “mentality” was put to him. He loved it.
He smiled and admitted he should have used it first. And then he let everyone in on the bigger picture. He talked about trying to change what Everton are, a little bit. About wanting to move them away from what they had become in recent years and back towards what he believes the club should be.
He went back to his earlier era at Everton – the days of Pienaar, Arteta, Osman, Cahill – and reminded people that his best sides weren’t just hard-working and organised; they were attacking teams, full of invention and bravery, that played on the front foot and achieved a high level of success relative to their resources.
Now, in this new chapter, he sees echoes of that again:
- Midfielders willing to play higher, take risks and drive the team up the pitch
- Players like Kieran Dewsbury-Hall making a genuine impact with their energy and courage on the ball
- The marked improvement of players like James Garner over the past year, adding technical calmness and responsibility in key areas
One of the key objectives at Old Trafford, he said, was simple: be good on the ball. Not just survive, not just cling on, but actually show composure and personality in possession – especially with eleven men, and then even when it became ten. And they did.
That’s why he embraced the word “mentality”. Because what you saw there was not a fluke. It was part of a deliberate, ongoing shift in how Everton see themselves.
A quietly outstanding, under-appreciated record
For all of this, Moyes’ record since coming back has not drawn the noise, headlines or social media storms it deserves.
Underneath the outside chatter, the numbers and performances tell a different story:
- A side that has found a way to win difficult games, home and away
- Back-to-back victories at a crucial point in the season, with the chance to make it three on the spin
- A team moving closer to the top half, not by accident, but by sustained work on mentality, organisation and attacking balance
The league is tight – Moyes knows that more than anyone. Two wins, you fly. Two defeats, you drop. But in that volatility, his Everton have begun to show something constant: resilience, belief, and identity.
He doesn’t shout about it. He doesn’t sell it. He just keeps doing the work.
And that’s exactly why his record is so underrated. It’s not driven by drama. It’s driven by standards.
Front-foot Everton, front-foot psychology
Another important strand of this shift is what he demands from his forwards and attacking players. He acknowledged the reality: strikers are judged on goals. They know it. He knows it. The outside world knows it. But instead of turning every dry spell into a crisis, he talked about the value of wholehearted performances, the unseen work, the jobs done for the team.
He wants more goals – he was clear about that. Everton need to keep scoring, to keep evolving. But he also recognises that modern football requires a different psychological load on attackers: pressing, sacrificing, adapting to the game state.
The same is true in midfield. With injuries and a shortage of options in that area, he’s had to think carefully about how to use more attacking-minded players, about who drops deeper, who pushes on, who carries the creative burden. It’s not just about plugging gaps – it’s about trusting players to handle responsibility.
That, again, is mentality.
The role of the fans in the shift
Moyes didn’t forget the supporters, especially those who travelled to Old Trafford.
He’s aware that many Everton fans have made that trip “over many years” and come back with little to shout about. On Monday night, they finally had something different: a performance and a result they could own.
The players produced. The fans backed them relentlessly. The whole world was watching the Premier League that night – and Everton’s players and supporters together gave the club a performance that felt like it belonged to a new chapter.
You could tell from the way Moyes spoke that he understands how crucial that connection is. A mentality shift doesn’t just happen in the dressing room; it happens in the stands, in the away end, in how a fanbase starts to believe again.
Newcastle: the next examination of the Moyes mindset
And so to Newcastle. A side with physicality, intensity and quality – a team that will not sit back and simply absorb pressure. That suits this version of Everton.
This is exactly the kind of fixture that will test – and showcase – the Moyes mentality shift:
- Can Everton reproduce the front-foot approach they’ve shown against Spurs, Fulham and United?
- Can they channel the confidence of Old Trafford into another assertive, brave performance?
- Can they show that the win with ten men wasn’t an isolated shock, but the sign of a club whose psychology has genuinely moved on?
For Moyes, this is not just about tactics for one game. It’s about continuing a journey he has already begun: dragging Everton back to where he believes they should be, step by step, performance by performance.
In a football world obsessed with instant takes, David Moyes is building something slower, stronger and more serious at Everton – a culture, a mentality, a standard.
It may not always be shouted about.
But you can feel it now.
The Moyes Mentality Shift is real.
