AT ONE stage last summer David Moyes was the bookies favourite to be the man in charge when Everton travel to White Hart Lane on Sunday. In charge of Spurs.

Back then, as now, the Scot’s future on Merseyside was the subject of speculation.

And those odds were no reflection of any belief the Blues manager was certain to sign a contract extension at Goodison 12 months early.

In fact, the rumour mill was throbbing with suggestions that Moyes would be sat in the home dug-out, with the famous cockerel of the North London club on his club jacket instead of Rupert’s Tower.

Moyes kept his counsel, and never attempted to court Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s reported interest, even if he was bound to have been intrigued by the prospect.

Speaking in the wake of Harry Redknapp’s departure from the role last June, Moyes said: “I hope to meet all my ambitions at Everton, but you never know in this game.

“I came back from holiday and found out about Harry and I feel sad for him because I feel he has done a good job.”

Moyes was pressed again on the Tottenham job while appearing as a pundit during the BBC’s Euro 2012 television coverage, but still he insisted his focus was on achieving his ambitions at Everton.

That loyalty was laudable, but ultimately the former Preston North End boss was never thrust fully onto the horns of a dilemma, because his phone never rang.

A call from Levy never arrived, and duly former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas was appointed.

Previously one national newspaper had run an online poll about whether Moyes was the man for Tottenham, which the majority of voters decided he wasn’t.

A ‘bigger name’ was required, according to those who responded.

The capital-based opinion makers on the broadsheets had been divided on the matter.

Some influential writers believed Moyes was the perfect choice to replicate his relative success at the Toffees onto a bigger stage – certainly in terms of his budget – in London.

Others argued his brand of football was too functional and pragmatic for a club with a history of aesthetically-pleasing artistry.

It is a theory which does not hold much weight almost 12 months later.

Whether or not prompted by an evaluation of outside perceptions of his style as a coach, Moyes’s Everton have certainly played some fine-flowing football this term.

Performances against Aston Villa, Swansea, Fulham and Newcastle to name a few have produced football fit for any stadium.

With the addition of Kevin Mirallas’s flair (when the Belgian has been fit) and the ever-evolving spark of Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar, Moyes has been able to match any side purporting to play the beautiful game in the Premier League, while exploding a few misconceptions about his approach.

It is Everton’s fortune that he is still in the right dug-out when they arrive in North London on Sunday.

Let’s hope he can yet be convinced it’s worth hanging around.

There are likely to be more than one potential new employer linked with him this summer.