'He can manage wherever he wants' Stuart Pearce makes big claim about former Sunderland boss Moyes

England and Nottingham Forest legend Stuart Pearce believes David Moyes has the level of quality to “manage wherever he wants to” after guiding West Ham to consecutive top seven finishes over the last two seasons.

Pearce was assistant to Moyes during his first spell at the Hammers and returned as a First Team coach when the Scotsman took the reigns at the London Stadium for a second time before stepping down from his role on Moyes’ staff at the end of the 2021/22 season. Speaking on talkSPORT, Pearce was full of praise for his former colleague, who is heading into his third full season in charge of the East London club.

“He can manage wherever he wants to; I think people underestimate how good a coach he actually is. I think he could manage at a bigger club, but he is happy at West Ham. They are a club on the rise, and I think David and West Ham go hand in hand, and there is a great deal of respect there for the manager from the fans.”

Before the 59-year-old’s first stint at West Ham, he had a rather forgettable spell with Sunderland in which he oversaw the club’s relegation from the Premier League, which ended a ten-year spell in the top flight for the Black Cats. The former Everton and Manchester United boss won just eight of his 43 games in charge at the Stadium of Light and has not managed a worse win percentage at any other club during his coaching career.

Moreover, with relegation confirmed, Moyes did not do much to rebuild any trust lost from the Sunderland faithful. He resigned from his role at the club a day after the last game of the season despite stating he would like to stay on after the Wearsiders’ fate for the next season was initially confirmed.

With this in mind, Sunderland fans may be inclined to