When David Moyes was an emerging manager at Preston in the 1990s, he thrived off some basic but unshakeable principles.
They included hard work, supreme fitness — double training sessions were common — an emphasis on effective set-pieces and old-school values such as immaculate timekeeping. He also persuaded the club to buy good players.
If that sounds familiar then it should, for all this and more forms the foundation of what Moyes is now doing at West Ham.
David Moyes has helped turn West Ham around and re-build his own managerial career
West Ham are third in the league table following their stunning 3-2 win over Liverpool
In the Premier League, West Ham are the emerging force. At the helm is a rejuvenated coach who many felt would not be seen again at this level after wretched spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland.
It says much about Moyes that he has returned to eminence after what happened to him between succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford in 2013 and leaving Sunderland four years later.
That spell appeared to have broken him. But it is telling that the methods which have enabled him to push his way back towards the top of the mountain have been those that worked for him years ago at Preston and Everton.
The testimonies from those who worked for Moyes at both clubs are startlingly similar. And West Ham are now one of the country’s hardest-working teams out of possession.
They have also scored more than 30 set-piece goals — more than any other Premier League team — since Moyes returned at the end of 2019 and are being smart in the transfer market.
After the greyness of predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, Moyes has brought a freshness to West Ham that in turn has bred a sense of purpose back to what had been such a dysfunctional club.
At Sunderland, Moyes simply seemed shot through with negativity. A consequence of his United experience? Maybe.
What happened to him at Old Trafford remains a mystery. He seemed a little overawed by the experience and his players sensed it. In one dressing-room exchange he asked his team to ‘show me how to win’.
Moyes' brief spell at Manchester United had appeared to break him as a manager
That was a sizeable change of outlook from a manager who in his two previous postings always appeared so sure of his methods. At Preston and Everton, he was described by players such as Graham Alexander and Marouane Fellaini as a father figure.
Now, Moyes is recreating that feel at West Ham. It is harder with modern players, certainly.
