David Moyes finally removed the uncertainty surrounding his future at Goodison Park last night when he signed a new five-year contract to become the highest paid employee in Everton's history.
The 45-year-old has more than doubled his weekly wage from £30,000 to £65,000 with an overall package worth £16.9m over the course of the contract. In the process of committing himself to Goodison until 2013, the Everton manager also ended a saga that he admitted had spread uncertainty throughout the club.
Talks on a new deal for Moyes, who moved to Everton from Preston North End in March 2002 and has qualified for Europe on three occasions, opened almost a year ago but the Glaswegian was reluctant to commit until his summer transfer budget was put in place. Following the closure of the transfer window, during which Moyes broke the club's transfer record for the fourth time with the £15m purchase of Marouane Fellaini from Standard Liège, who have since knocked Everton out of the Uefa Cup, the contract stalled over various financial incentives that did not include the salary on offer. Last night, however, Moyes concluded the deal.
"There have been many different things for different reasons but we are here now and the biggest thing for me is I'm at Everton, as far as I'm concerned, for another five years," said Moyes, who would become the second longest-serving manager in the club's history should he remain in charge until 2013. "The job is to make us better than we have been. I am really excited and really pleased, for everyone. I'm pleased for myself and my family, who were desperate to get it signed and secured. It's what I always wanted to do."
The Everton manager admitted recently that he feared he had stayed at Goodison too long until being convinced otherwise by Sir Bobby Robson. He added: "I have enjoyed my time here so far and I am looking forward to the next part as well. There is definitely a consistency at the club. Players know what they're doing, staff know what they're doing.
"It's a great football club and I am privileged to be the manager. Since I took over six years ago I think there has been an improvement and the job now is to see more of it over the next five years or so. I want the ambition to be greater, I want the expectancy to be higher - that's on and off the field. I am determined to try and take it forward."
Moyes' deal represents a major relief for the Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright, who agreed personal terms with his manager at the end of last season and had consistently claimed the Scot would extend a deal that had been due to expire next summer. Kenwright said: "There have always been two people - myself and David - who were confident that the long term future of the manager would eventually be secured. The signatures of those two people are now on a contract. I am obviously very pleased that the contract I've always believed to be the most important one for this club, is now concluded."
