"We used to joke that Everton was a running club!”: Inside a David Moyes pre-season | OneFootball

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Everton’s pre-season preparations continued with a win at Hamburg this weekend, the fourth fixture of a summer schedule that will take in the trip to Germany, a return to Scotland, and a home clash with Lille before the season opener.

​Pre-season preparations are gruelling as teams put in the hard yards to be ready for opening weekend in August. David Moyes and his men have already undergone a training camp in Scotland, with the fixtures now coming thick and fast as the Toffees sharpen up across the summer.

​In our latest Once a Blue conversation, Yakubu Ayegbeni opened up on the demands of pre-season under Moyes. The Yak admitted he was no fan of the fitness-focused regime, and insisted the Scot’s summer workloads were the hardest of his career.

​“With Moysey, it’s very, very demanding. I was lucky, normally in the summer we’d have games with the national team so I’d miss the first two weeks! Moysey’s pre-season was very, very hard work. We’d travel to Scotland, and on that Scotland trip I’d never go. I was there for four years and never went to that place!

​“As a player you have to do pre-season, it’s really, really tough. We used to train three times a day for one week. We’d go for a run in the forest for about 45 minutes at about 7:30, then you’d go for football. Then running, 100m, 200m, 400m… which is really, really tough! For me, when it’s metres I’m fine. 200m is so-so, but 400m is really hard. I used to be at the back!

​“I enjoy football, not running around! 50m and 100m, ok, but when it comes to 200m and 400m… I’m smiling now, but the guys who know me were like ‘Come on, Yak!’ Moysey used to say to me, just keep going, it doesn’t matter if you finish last, but you have to do it.

“When you’ve trained with Moyes, you can play anywhere, do any training in the world. Military training, you can do it, because his training is really intense.

“​Every player needs pre-season. It keeps you going for the rest of the season and prevents injuries. You’ve been out of football for weeks; where you haven’t done anything for four weeks, you’ve lost a little bit. It’s normal. Even when you’re injured and out for two weeks, you’re starting again. Normally they give you a programme to do when you’re on holiday, just to keep your body going.

“When it comes to a week before pre-season, you have to push a little bit. And if you don’t push before David Moyes pre-season, you’re done! I’m telling you, you’re done.”

​One player who benefitted from Moyes’ pre-season demands last summer was James Garner. The midfielder covered more distance than any other Premier League player in 2025/26, accumulating 415.46km on route to winning Everton’s Player of the Season award.

Modern footballers often showcase themselves keeping in shape over the summer, though Yakubu insists that is no new phenomenon. He said those who switched off completely would feel the consequences upon their return.

“There wasn’t too much social media then. Everyone used to do a little bit and do something while you’re on holiday. I think the players now really do more on holiday, to keep their shape. It’s intense now. Back then, your first week back it was just running. Now I think you do a little bit of football and running.

​“Back then, we used to make a joke that Everton was a running club. We were just running! The crazy part is, even the gaffer would run with us. He was really fit back then; I’m not sure about now… he used to do the same jogging with the players, 20 minutes non-stop with high tempo. You’d run from one post for a minute, then to another post for a minute. Sometimes at the training ground it was like a hill! A lot of memories of running…

​“A lot used to struggle; it wasn’t just me. Joseph Yobo, he struggled a lot. Victor Anichebe, he tried, but we always struggled a bit. Steven Pienaar was really good, and Leighton Baines. He can run for fun. The goalkeepers as well, Tim Howard, struggled a little bit. Just stick with the goalkeepers!”

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