Moyes signs new deal at Everton

Manager David Moyes has ended speculation over his future by signing a new five-year deal at Everton.

Moyes, 45, delayed signing the deal and admitted it may have unsettled his players after they were knocked out of the Carling Cup and the Uefa Cup.

"There have been many different things for different reasons," Moyes told the club's website of the delay.

"But we are here now. The big thing for me is that I am at Everton, as far as I am concerned, for another five years."

Moyes, who has been in charge at Goodison Park since March 2002, has endured a difficult start to the season with Everton currently 15th in the Premier League table with eight points after seven games.

And the manager, who would have been out of contract at the end of the season, added: "The job is to make us better than we have been.

"I am really excited and really pleased. I am pleased for everybody - I'm pleased for myself and my family who were desperate to get it signed and secured and it is always what I wanted to do."

The deal, signed at Everton's training ground Finch Farm on Tuesday, has been concluded against a backdrop of uncertainty over the club's future.

Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright has indicated that he is willing to sell the club to a new owner with the finances to allow Everton to compete at the top end of the Premier League table.

And Keith Harris, chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, has revealed he is hopeful of finding a buyer for Everton.

But Kenwright said he was delighted that Moyes had signed his new contract.

"There have always been two people - myself and David - confident that the long term future of the manager would eventually be secured," he said.

"The signatures of those two people are now on a contract.

"I am obviously very pleased that the contract, that I've always believed to be the most important contract, is now concluded."

Everton were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Blackburn and lost to Standard Liege in the Uefa Cup in the space of eight days.

But since Moyes succeeded Walter Smith as manager the club he has twice been named League Manager Association Manager of the Year and Everton have twice qualified for the Uefa Cup and once for the Champions League.

"Since I took over six years ago, I think there has been an improvement and the job is that I want a similar improvement over the next five years or so," added Moyes.

"I want the ambition to be greater. I want the expectancy to be higher and I want Everton overall to be higher on the field and off the field, I am determined to try and take it forward."