Everton’s final game at Goodison Park this weekend will be a poignant occasion, manager David Moyes said on Friday as the club bid farewell to the stadium they have called home for 133 years, but he wants his players to focus on beating Southampton.
Everton host already-relegated Saints in their 2,789th game at ‘The Grand Old Lady’, which has been their home since 1892, before they make the move to Bramley-Moore Dock next season.
“I think all the Evertonians have been waiting for this moment for quite some time now. The new stadium is something everybody has been looking forward to,” Moyes told reporters ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game.
“It will be a sad and emotional day, but I’ve got to keep the players focused on the game.”
The club announced the new 52,888-capacity stadium, which will open in August, would be named Hill Dickinson Stadium after the British commercial law firm became the official naming rights partner.
Since he walked through the doors at Goodison Park when he was appointed in 2002 for his first spell in charge, Moyes developed a mid-table club into an underdog side that often challenged the elite, giving the fans many fond memories to look back on.
But the Scot said there are other people who are “a bit more wise and knowledgeable” about Everton and Goodison Park than he was.
“There is some great history, great stories, great managers and great players who have all been here. I’m just the one who’s going to shut the door on the way out,” added the 62-year-old, who returned to the club in January following a 12-year absence.
“It will be sad, but we are moving into something that is going to give us a bigger and better future.”
When asked about his favourite Goodison Park highlight, the 62-year-old said it was his arrival in March 2002.
“The first day and coming onto the pitch against Fulham is probably it for me because that was the start,” he said.
“There were question marks over how long it would last, but I had really good people who let me get on with my job and gave me everything I needed.
“That is the moment I remember out of everything.”
