Exclusive: David Moyes ‘turned down Wolves manager job’
David Moyes “ruled himself out” of taking over from Gary O’Neil at Wolves amid a list of concerns about the job at hand.
That is according to former Man United and West Ham scout, who worked closely with Moyes during his time at the London Stadium, exclusively told Football Insider that the boss had a number of reservations about taking the job.
This comes shortly after the Black Country club agreed an 18-month deal with Vitor Pereira, manager of Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Shabab, to take over at Molineux.
The looming threat of relegation, with Wolves having won just two of their 16 league games and currently sitting five points away from safety, is thought to have cast uncertainty over the role.
Meanwhile, questions about the club’s financial position and extent to which he would be backed in the January window raised further concerns for the former Everton boss.
Brown claims Moyes would have been expected to work with the current crop of players despite their struggles in the first half of the season and their lacklustre displays.
There was also a belief that failure to improve the team’s recent form and help them to avoid relegation would have been a blow to his reputation, which remains strong despite his exit from West Ham.
David Moyes turned down Wolves job amid growing concerns
Football Insider revealed on 13 December that Moyes was not expected to join Wolves after O’Neil’s departure as he wasn’t keen on the job.
Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game and a wealth of experience working with top-level managers including Sir Alex Ferguson and Ron Atkinson, insisted that the number of potential issues with the job put the boss off.
“It’s a difficult one,” he told Football Insider.
“Because when you’re out of work, you’re usually looking to get back in and you can’t always afford to be picky about where you go.
“But if you’re not careful, you can go out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“He would have to be careful because what’s the point of going into the job at Wolves at a time when they’re struggling financially and on the pitch.
“They just want somebody to come in and manage what they’ve got.
“Well, as Gary O’Neil made clear, what they’ve got might not be good enough.
“He might’ve been able to make marginal differences in terms of their organisation, but basically they’ve got what they’ve got.
“They’re five points away form safety now, and you don’t want to hang that one around your own neck.
“It always carries the risk of putting a dent in his reputation if he went and couldn’t turn them around, which given their situation is very possible.
“So, from what I understand, he essentially ruled himself out of that job.”
In other news, Wolves are readying two new signings in January.
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