David Moyes Sunderland Premier LeagueRichard Heathcote

Moyes: No coach would have done better than me at Manchester United

David Moyes does not believe any manager would have fared better in charge of Manchester United in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's departure than he did.

Moyes was brought in to replace Red Devils icon Ferguson after he brought an end to an illustrious 25-year spell in charge of the club.

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The ex-Everton boss was sacked before the end of his first season at Old Trafford, however, with his side sitting seventh in the Premier League and being eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

United were unable to return to the summit of the English top flight after Moyes' departure, but are in better shape to compete this term as they sit level on points with Manchester City after seven games.

Moyes admits results were disappointing during his tenure in charge, but insists success was impossible.

"I accept ­totally that when you are ­manager of ­Manchester United, you have to win. I didn’t win enough," he said, according to The Mirror. 

"But I don’t think there is a manager out there who would have been able to do something better or quicker in the time I was given after Sir Alex ­retired. It was all about small ­margins.

"There was a changing of the guard. Not only did I replace Alex, David Gill had also stepped down as chief executive and Ed Woodward came in.

"So it was always going to take time. Yes, I took over the champions, but clubs like Chelsea and Man City spent huge amounts of that money that summer in a bid to overtake us.

David Moyes Manchester UnitedGetty

"And it was difficult for me to go into Old Trafford and rip up the team that had just ran away with the title."

The 54-year-old does, however, believe his job was made more difficult by United's dealings in the transfer market, as they looked to sign Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas.

"Having said that, things would have been a lot different if we had landed our main transfer targets.

"We were in for Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas. They were genuine targets, but for one ­reason or another we didn’t get them over the line. Getting them would have been the perfect start in terms of reshaping the squad I ­inherited.

"I have no ­regrets about taking the United job. When you get offered a job like that you take it. When you compare my season to what Jose achieved last season it is about those small margins.

"United were always going to have to go through a difficult time when Alex left.

"You only have to see how much money they have spent over the last three years just to build a team capable of ­challenging for the title again to see how difficult the job was.”

Moyes followed up his year at Man Utd with unsuccessful stints at Real Sociedad and Sunderland and is currently out of work.

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