David Moyes thinks he knows Manchester United’s biggest problem but there is one major issue he wants to resolve at Everton before he sets foot inside the club’s new stadium. Handpicked by Sir Alex Ferguson to be his successor, Moyes was the first of half a dozen subsequent gaffers at Old Trafford – not including interim bosses – to have tried and failed to add to his fellow Glaswegian’s 13 Premier League titles with the Red Devils.

Asked if the struggles of his subsequent successors had help rationalise his own difficult tenure at United, Moyes said: “Yeah, I think so. I think there was a lot of negativity at the time. When you look back, I was seventh in the Premier League when I left.

“We’d just got knocked out in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Yeah, semi-final cup in the League Cup, penalties, I think it was.

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“So if you look back at that, you would say, by the way, maybe, considering where maybe the position is now, you would be saying, well, that doesn’t look so bad at that time. So yeah, I think maybe looking back now, I’ve got no hard feelings about nobody, I’ve got nothing about it.

“I really enjoyed my time there. But I’ve said here when we’re talking about it, it was probably maybe time for me to leave at the time when I left here.

“But I look back and I think that there’s so many good managers come through Manchester United, and I take myself out of that when you look at Jose and Louis van Gaal, to mention but two of the best managers, and it’s still been a difficult job for whoever’s been in place there. So it’s a great club, but they’re finding it difficult just to get back on track.”

Now looking to plot their downfall on United’s last-ever trip to Goodison Park, Moyes thinks he knows what the major issue has been at Old Trafford and it’s the emergence of the petrodollar-fuelled team down the road who Ferguson once dubbed “The noisy neighbours.” He said: “I think the biggest problem’s been Manchester City. I think Manchester City’s been Manchester United’s biggest problem because I think the competition to catch them or beat them or be close to them was always really difficult.

“I think, did Jose finish second to them in the league? And when you look back, it was a great achievement probably, because Manchester City at that time were probably in their pomp as well.

“And I think the emergence of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp as well made it also really difficult because it became Manchester City and Liverpool a little bit around that time. But there’s no doubt Man United will have their time again, I’ve got no doubt about that. It’ll come around and someone will get it right somewhere along the line.”

In terms of his own lack of time there – United sacked him less than one full season into a six-year contract – Moyes acknowledges he’s have liked more of an opportunity to build the club like he did at West Ham United or Everton first time around. He said: “I probably hope that, you know, you would always hope as a manager that you’re going to get given [time].