Football: I deserved more time at Man United - Moyes

MANCHESTER (AFP) - Former Manchester United manager David Moyes said in a British newspaper interview published today that he should have been given more time by the club.

He was sacked in April after just 10 months in the role.

His successor, Louis van Gaal, took charge of his first Premier League game yesterday when United lost 2-1 at home to Swansea City.

United slumped alarmingly under Moyes, eventually finishing the season in seventh place, but he feels he could have proven himself a worthy replacement for Alex Ferguson if the club had shown more patience.

"It was a step into the unknown and, looking back now, it was near enough the impossible job," Moyes told the Mail on Sunday.

"I was devastated to lose the job because it was something I felt I could make a real success of. We knew it was going to take time to make the necessary changes. It was going to take time to evolve.

"But we were in the process of making other important changes. In the end, I don't feel I was given time to succeed or fail."

Moyes admitted that he had been hurt by the nature of his dismissal on April 22, which was widely announced in the British media before the Scot received official confirmation from the club.

"In the end, it was difficult for my family, the way we discovered - via the media - that I'd lost my job," he said.

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