David Moyes has emerged as one of the leading contenders to replace Steve Clarke as Scotland manager, with bookmakers moving quickly after Clarke’s resignation following the Tartan Army’s group-stage exit at the World Cup.
Markets vary on exactly where Moyes sits — some have him joint-second, others further back — but he is consistently named in the frame alongside Ange Postecoglou, Alex Neil, John McGlynn and Neil McCann.
Moyes has previously said he would be open to the international job “at some point,” and returned to Goodison Park in January 2025 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, which was set to expire at the end of the 2026-27 season. There were rumours of a contract extension being discussed in March, but, as of yet, nothing has materialised.
Where the race stands
Postecoglou remains the clear market leader to take over at Hampden, with his recent managerial pedigree and international experience making him the obvious name to build a rebuild around. Moyes, by contrast, represents the continuity option — a recognisable face with deep Scottish roots, even if his club commitments may complicate any approach from the SFA.
Asked about the vacancy on talkSPORT during his World Cup punditry work, Moyes called it “a really good role” and praised Clarke’s seven years in charge, but stopped short of committing either way. It was a typically guarded response, and one that has done little to settle the question either side of the border.
Why Everton’s fanbase is split
For a significant section of Everton supporters, this isn’t a difficult call. Moyes has restored stability to a club that spent much of the past decade lurching between crises, and continuity matters with the new stadium, a pre-season schedule locked in and several first-team futures — Tarkowski, Grealish and Ndiaye among them — with their futures still to be settled.
Losing him mid-rebuild, the argument goes, would hand his successor a tricky unfinished job with limited time to prep for the new season.
The case for change
Others take a different view. The argument here is less about results so much as ambition. Moyes is reliable but conservative, and some fans want to see what a more progressive coach could extract from a squad that has, under him, found a level of stability it now needs to build beyond.
There’s also a sentimental case here: if Moyes is ever going to take the Scotland job, doing so now — with Everton settled rather than in crisis — would be about as clean an exit as he is likely to get.
What happens next
In reality, the Scotland vacancy moving quickly doesn’t mean Moyes moves with it. The SFA will want clarity before the next international window, and there is no indication so far that Everton would sanction an approach, particularly with Moyes under contract until 2027.
The likelier outcome is that the job goes to Postecoglou or another of the frontrunners, and Moyes stays at Hill Dickinson — for now.
What the speculation has exposed, regardless of the outcome, is that opinion on Moyes among Evertonians remains far from settled. The issue isn’t really about where the team finished in the table last season. It’s about where supporters think the ceiling is from here.
