Jack Rodwell’s glee at new boss David Moyes who was ‘like a father figure’ to him

JACK RODWELL had the world at his feet when he last worked with David Moyes.

The midfielder was touted as a future England captain after the Scot gave him his Everton debut in 2007 — at just 16 years old.

was reluctantly forced to sell his blue-eyed boy when mega-rich Manchester City came in with a £15million offer in 2012.

But rather than take off, Rodwell’s career stalled during an injury-plagued two years at the Etihad.
And after two seasons at Sunderland, it is still yet to get off the ground. Until now, that is.

Rodwell, 25, reckons there is no better man than Moyes — who was named Black Cats boss on Saturday — to get him back to his best.

Speaking to SunSport on pre-season duty in France, a fully fit Rodwell said: “He’s always been great with me.

“He brought me through and gave me my debut and I played over 100 games for him.
“In a way, he was like a father figure, so it’s a great appointment for me.

“Now it’s just a case of me being physically at my best because, mentally, I then know that I can produce my best stuff.

“Injuries knock your confidence because you are going out on the pitch thinking, ‘I’m not 100 per cent’.

“There was always something in the back of my head where I thought I wasn’t quite ready.
“When you have that, it is so hard to fully commit to things. But I’ve not felt that for six months now. I don’t even think of it any more.

“And with David coming in, he knows my game more than anyone, so it could help me a lot.”
Sunderland approached Moyes to take over at the Stadium of Light as soon as the FA spoke to about the England vacancy.

And Rodwell was quick to assure all his Black Cats team-mates about the qualities of their incoming boss.

He said: “With Sam, the writing was on the wall for a long time.

“We were in Austria when it became obvious he was going to England.

“But even before that I was looking round thinking, ‘There’s no one else for the job here’.
“So we prepared for it as a group and knew it was coming.

“John O’Shea sent a message to all the players saying we need to stay focused, we can’t let it bother us.

“Sam leaving was still disappointing. We all liked him, he was great for us.
“But as soon as I heard it was Moyes I was made up and knew we’d be fine — he is someone we need.

“Everyone was asking what he was like. I told them, ‘He’s excellent’. He will be great for us. He’ll succeed because of his dedication and work ethic.

“I’ve never known a manager who works as hard.”

Rodwell thinks Moyes (left) will be an even better boss following his ill-fated nine months in charge of Manchester United — as well as a year at La Liga outfit Real Sociedad.

He added: “I think he was just a bit unlucky at Man United. I don’t think did much better.

“They wanted instant success. I think if he had another six months to a year, you would have seen the best of him.

“But that spell will benefit us and he’s been in Spain as well.

“So he’s got a lot more experience than when I was first with him — and even then he was great.”

Rodwell has only been at Sunderland two years but Moyes is already his fourth Wearside manager, after Gus Poyet, Dick Advocaat and Allardyce.

So he is praying Moyes, who signed a four-year deal, sticks around to cure the club’s habit of relegation scraps.

Rodwell added: “The club needs stability. Five or six years of the same manager and you are not chopping and changing players and staff every year.

“I think Moyes will bring that, definitely. What he achieved in his 11 years at Everton was phenomenal.
“Our squad is small at the moment, but if we add a few, there is no reason why we should be in trouble again.”