• Premier League

Moyes denies 'disgrace' dig at Everton fans

David Moyes has vehemently denied calling Everton supporters "a f****** disgrace" following his former club's 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

An Everton fan who met Moyes after the match in the Lowry Hotel in Manchester tweeted that the Manchester United manager had said the remark in relation to the hostility shown by the away support, who, among other chants, sang "you're getting sacked in the morning" toward him following Bryan Oviedo's late winner.

It was confirmed by a United spokeswoman that Moyes had indeed met the fan and taken a photograph with him, however she said the manager insists he did not utter the alleged remark.

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Moyes had been given a guard of honour when he left Everton to join United in May following an 11-year spell on Merseyside, but his summer pursuit of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines soured his relationship with the club and the fans.

In August he said: "If I'd been Everton manager and Sir Alex [Ferguson] had come asking for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini, I'd have found it very difficult to keep them because I always felt the right thing to do was what was right for the players."

Wednesday's defeat saw United slip 12 points off Premier League leaders Arsenal, and they could now face a fight to finish in the top four. Moyes' side are five points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool.

Moyes has been reassured however by United's owners the Glazer family that the club's finances are strong enough to survive missing out on the Champions League, and that they would still be prepared to provide significant funds for investment in the squad.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, speaking to the fanzine United We Stand earlier this season, said: "If we have a bad year, does it impact on our sponsorship that year? No. If we have a bad year, we have the financial strength to change the team."

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