Kilbane - "Moyes is right man for United"

There is nobody better to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United than David Moyes, according to one of the few people to have both played alongside and under the Everton manager.

Kevin Kilbane may have gone on to play at a World Cup with the Republic of Ireland but his footballing career began at the far more humble surroundings of Deepdale with Preston.

The winger-cum-full-back spent his formative years there as a team-mate of Moyes, who would later sign him as Everton manager.

The Scot now looks set to leave Goodison Park to fill the void left by Ferguson's shock retirement and Kilbane believes he is more than up to the task.

"I am delighted, thoroughly delighted," he told Press Association Sport.

"I have played under him and played alongside him at Preston as well.

"He is a former team-mate and manager and I've got to say I am absolutely delighted. I think he is a top manager.

"I've thought about it a lot and I don't think there is any manager that would be more fitting to go in there and work with the club, having Sir Alex Ferguson above him.

"I am sure he will seek his advice along the way and there are not too many managers that will be too forthcoming in going and knocking on Sir Alex Ferguson's door. David Moyes would do that.

"He is a strong character in his own right and what he has done at Everton has been a huge achievement.

"He would work with Sir Alex Ferguson as well and I think it is a perfect fit for the club."

Moyes is the standout candidate for a role that Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho has also been linked to.

Unlike the Portuguese, the Everton boss has not won a hoard of trophies during his managerial career but Kilbane thinks that success needs to be measured in context.

"What he has done at Everton has been truly magnificent," he said, speaking at an event for the FA Cup silversmiths Thomas Lyte in central London.

"He has been there over 10 years now, he has built a club that has been consistently challenging for European places, certainly over the last four or five years.

"He has produced a top side time and time again on a limited budget. I think everybody recognises that the job he has done is fantastic.

"He will be working with a different calibre of players, different stature of club, but he has progressed in his career certainly from starting out at Preston and onto Everton.

"This is a huge step for him but I am sure he is going to relish it."