Jordan Pickford has backed David Moyes for driving Everton’s late push for Europe, saying the club’s season has been shaped by a manager who leaves nothing to chance and has put his own stamp on the team. Everton are 10th in the Premier League and still have an outside chance of finishing as high as sixth, with a place in the Conference League now a real possibility as the campaign reaches the last two games of the season.
Pickford, the England World Cup discussion around the national team also ongoing, said the mood at Everton has changed under Moyes since the Scot returned in January 2025. “It’s been good, a lot better,” he said, adding that the team have made “a lot of improvements overall.” Pickford pointed to the results away from home and the growing atmosphere around Hill Dickinson Stadium, saying: “In truth, we’ve probably left a few points out there which would have put us higher than where we currently find ourselves, so that’s a bit frustrating, but from where we’ve been to where we are now, both as a team and as a club, it’s definitely going in the right direction.”
The numbers underline why Everton believe the talk is justified. Since Moyes returned, they have won 21 Premier League games and already gone beyond their top-flight points total from 2024-25. Everton have not played in European competition since 2014-15, when they reached the Europa League round of 16 under Roberto Martinez, and they last finished in the top half of the league five seasons ago. For a club that has spent much of the recent past stuck below that line, the chance to turn a strong finish into a continental return is no longer theoretical.
Pickford was especially blunt about Moyes’ methods. “The manager has put his own stamp on it. He is a workhorse! He’s non-stop. He won’t leave anything to chance and will never cut corners,” he said. “He puts a lot of work in to give us the detail to give us the best opportunity to win each game.” That detail will matter next against Sunderland, who arrive out of contention for a top-six finish but still carrying the confidence of a season that has surprised onlookers.
Sunderland were held to a goalless draw against Manchester United last time out and have 48 Premier League points from a record of 12 wins, 12 draws and 12 losses. Only in 1999-00, when they finished with 58 points, and 2000-01, when they reached 57, have they done better in the Premier League. Granit Xhaka has been central to that progress, and he has been open about the club’s approach. “Is it enough if you get 48 points? Don’t forget where we have come from,” he said. “The target was to survive, get as many points as possible and see where we were at the end. Now, in the last two games, we want to give everything and be proud of ourselves.”
It leaves Everton facing a sharp test at exactly the right time. Their own push has already gone further than many expected, but the final stretch will decide whether Moyes turns progress into a return to Europe and gives Pickford’s optimism a reward that has been years in the making.
