David Moyes 'looking forward to meeting the supporters' after being appointed West Ham manager

Slaven Bilic was sacked on Monday following a meeting with club officials as West Ham dropped into the relegation zone after a 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool

David Moyes was on Tuesday announced as Slaven Bilic's replacement as West Ham manager. Jason Cairnduff / Reuters

David Moyes has been appointed manager of West Ham United, with the relegation-threatened club citing his record at Everton as a reason to plump for a man who has failed in his last three jobs.

The Scot, who had been out of work since resigning at Sunderland following their demotion last season, replaces Slaven Bilic, who was sacked on Monday after Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Liverpool.

Moyes has been given a six-month contract and set his sights on keeping the East London club in the Premier League.

The 54-year-old Scot began with a call for West Ham supporters to back him after news of his imminent arrival met with negative reactions on social media and fan websites.

He said: “I'm really looking forward to meeting the supporters and seeing them get right behind the team and my team also. We need their right support. We need everyone with us.

“It is a big job we have in hand now but I am sure with everyone together we can get the right results between now and the end of the season.”

Moyes only won six league games in his year in charge of Sunderland as he suffered the first relegation of his managerial career.

Before that, he won 28 per cent of his matches during a 12-month spell at Real Sociedad after his traumatic stint in charge of Manchester United.

He was chosen by Alex Ferguson to replace him when the double Uefa Champions League winner retired in 2013 but Moyes, whose six-year contract at Old Trafford was due to run until 2019, was sacked after just 10 months, ending the club’s shortest managerial reign since the 1930s during a season when United only finished seventh.

But West Ham had hoped to appoint him in 2015, when Moyes opted to stay with Sociedad despite reservations about how things were going in Spain, and their owners are long-time admirers of his.

They cited his 11-year reign at Goodison Park, where he secured eight top-eight finishes with an annual net spend of just £2.8 million (Dh13.5m) and won the League Managers Association’s Manager of the Year award three times.

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• Moyes on pole to replace Bilic at West Ham as Croat calls his own dismissal 'logical'

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Joint chairman David Sullivan told the club website: “We need somebody with experience, knowledge of the Premier League and the players in it, and we believe David is the right man to turn things around and get the best out of the players. He is highly regarded and respected within the game, and will bring fresh ideas, organisation and enthusiasm.

“He proved with Everton that he has great qualities and we feel that West Ham is a club that will give David the platform to display those qualities again.”

Moyes’ style of play has been criticised, particularly during his time at Old Trafford, but he railed against that reputation as he promised to play a progressive brand of football at a club where it matters.

“I hope West Ham fans are going to see a team that is organised and disciplined,” he told the club's website. “But I have always only ever wanted to be involved with attacking, entertaining football. I think we have got a good squad.

“West Ham is a big club. I have been offered some other opportunities recently but I wanted a job that would give me a real good chance [of success]. I wanted a big fanbase, a big club, and West Ham fitted the bill.”

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