Moyes bristles at ‘stupid’ cup questions but suggests Premier League trumps trophy dreams for Everton

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·25 August 2026

Moyes bristles at ‘stupid’ cup questions but suggests Premier League trumps trophy dreams for Everton

(Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images)

David Moyes has said Everton 'want to do well in the cups' but suggested a strong Premier League campaign is more important.

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Everton begin their Carabao Cup campaign at Preston North End tomorrow evening, aiming to improve on a poor recent record in cup competitions.

The Toffees have excited the FA Cup and League Cup in the fourth round or earlier on seven occasions in their last eight cup campaigns, reaching one quarter-final.

A second-string Everton exited this competition at struggling Wolves last season, while falling at the first hurdle in the FA Cup.

Asked at his pre-match press conference how much focus will be placed on the cups this season, Moyes gave a prickly answer. He said it was 'stupid' to suggest managers did not want cup success.

"I think it's a question every journalist asks every manager. In some ways, I think are those journalists dead stupid? Do you think none of the managers want to win the cups?

"Of course we all want to win the cups. Yes the cups are hugely important, would it be more important than staying in the Premier League?

"I’ll ask you the question: Is winning a cup more important than staying in the Premier League? What would your answer be? Of course we want to do well in the cups, I can’t think of any manager who wouldn’t want a good run in the cups."

Moyes' comments come amid Angus Kinnear's target for Everton to 'challenge for a trophy' this season. He used the recent examples of Newcastle and Crystal Palace as clubs who succeeded with ambition in the cup competitions.

“Newcastle, Crystal Palace, have shown that it is achievable of clubs who are ambitious but [where] winning a Premier League or winning a European Cup is hard," he said.

"We have definitely had discussions with ownership and with David [Moyes] about how we use the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup to give something for the fans to really cheer and get behind and be proud of.”