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'My time at Man Utd was a failure'

A former Manchester United manager has now opened up about his tenure at the club, labelling it a "failure".

David Moyes was appointed as Red Devils boss in July 2013 – taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson, who had retired – but lasted less than a year in the hot seat, having been relieved of his duties in April 2014. 

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During his time at Old Trafford, the former Everton manager was in charge of 51 games, winning 26, drawing 10 and losing 15. 

Speaking on William Hill's Up Front podcast with Simon Jordan, the former West Ham United tactician revealed that his stint at United remains the biggest regret in his career. 

"My time at Manchester United was a failure. If I've got any regrets in my career, it's taking one of the biggest jobs in world football and not being able to make it work," he said. 

"When it's my time to retire, that'll always be my biggest regret. 

"I found it really difficult when I lost the Manchester United job, there were so many stories that came out that were untrue – and I couldn't stop them.

"I think the set-up I went into that job with was a set-up that was successful at Everton. I was trying not to change Sir Alex Ferguson's system.

"At the time, the values at Manchester United were brilliant. It was all about supporting the manager, they brought young players through – they were all the correct things – and I went in there thinking that it was going to suit me.

"The owners were saying to me that they'd been given a lot of criticism, but that I was to take my time and there was no hurry. When the wheels started coming off, I felt huge pressure. I thought that a lot of the criticism I was receiving was unfair."

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Moyes also revealed that the side was unable to bring in the players he initially wanted, with the list including former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and ex-Tottenham Hotspur attacker Gareth Bale. 

"In terms of the signings I wanted, we had a terrible window," he continued. 

"I spoke to Cesc and he'd been out of the team at Barcelona, so he agreed that if he wasn't in the team for their first game of the season, then he'd come to United. He was going to be the big signing.

"The other player I wanted was Gareth Bale. United always had great wide players like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, so I thought he would fit.

"We made the bigger offer to Tottenham and to the player, we had a helicopter waiting for him, but he had his heart set on Real Madrid."

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