As David Moyes, who at 61 has returned to Everton as the Premier League’s elder statesman, sat in his chair in the media room at Finch Farm to preview the last-ever Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, a predictable route was a walk down memory lane.

When Moyes first went head-to-head against Liverpool, he was still in his 30s and with Evertonians taunting their neighbours with chants of “Rooney’s gonna get yer,’ the Blues boss was able to deploy his outrageously talented teenage protege as a substitute in a goalless draw at Anfield. That was way back on December 22, 2002, the day that Joe Strummer, the 50-year-old frontman of The Clash died and Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground went top of the charts to become the UK’s Christmas Number One.

A generation on, the mood music is rather different around Everton these days but as always, the Scot is having to take on the role of the underdog.

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Moyes was always able to get under the skin of Kopites from the start, ever since he first walked through the door at Goodison and christened his new employers ‘The People’s Club,’ while after another stalemate across Stanley Park in 2007, his team’s resolute performance prompted Rafael Benitez to petulantly refer to the neighbours as “a small club,” a careless and downright inaccurate remark – it took Liverpool 87 years to go ahead in derby victories – despite that forced the Spaniard to do some furious back peddling when he ended up being hired by Farhad Moshiri in 2021.

The Monaco-based businessman’s reign of chaos at the Blues saw him go through eight managers in as many years, but despite a few close calls, Moyes never returned on his watch. Now Everton’s most-successful Premier League manager, who steered the club to nine top-eight positions, including a club record fourth place in the competition in 2004/05, when they finished above their Champions League-winning neighbours, is back under The Friedkin Group, but he’s looking to the future rather than the past.

Flanked in the room by a mural of Goodison heroes of the past over his shoulder – Neville Southall, Dixie Dean, Daniel Amokachi, Tim Cahill, Duncan Ferguson, Bob Latchford, Dave Hickson and Kevin Ratcliffe – Moyes was asked about his favourite Merseyside Derbies and we got the predictable namechecks for Lee Carsley and Andrew Johnson, but as the football world prepares for Goodison’s last derby, his focus is on getting the points required to ensure Everton avoid the nightmare scenario of leaving the first purpose-built football ground in England and venue for the most top flight matches to an incredible new stadium which enables them to play in front of the biggest regular crowds in their history as a Championship club.

A hat-trick of consecutive Premier League victories under Moyes for a team that hadn’t triumphed in back-to-back fixtures all season with Sean Dyche at the helm, has eased that pressure somewhat, but both the Glaswegian’s staff and the playing squad remain acutely aware with another 14 games to play, the job is far from done. A tidal wave of emotion ahead of wishing ‘The Grand Old Lady’ a fond farewell can help Everton get over the line, both on Wednesday night and in the weeks to come, but that passion alone cannot win matches.

Those green shoots of recovery shown against Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City offered encouragement but then the FA Cup exit at home to Bournemouth on Saturday brought beleaguered Blues back down to earth with a bump. Arne Slot’s Liverpool suffered an even more humbling exit from the competition the following day at Plymouth Argyle but the Reds side that takes to the field at Goodison will be a very different animal, both in terms of personnel and personality.

While Moyes, who seemed relaxed but typically determined, has got some happy derby memories on home turf, he acknowledged he has also suffered his fair share of defeats. Liverpool are closing in on what would be their first title triumph in front of fans for 35 years but after over 130 years of Merseyside Derby combat, with both clubs deadlocked on 41 Goodison wins apiece, home fans will let it be known to their returning gaffer that even with their visitors’ dominance in recent decades, the prospect of the Reds finishing with more victories there when she closes her doors for the last time would be an abomination in their eyes.