FORMER Ipswich Town striker Alex Mathie played under Everton boss David Moyes at Preston North End and has backed his fellow Scot to replace the retiring Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Mathie, part of the Blues’ infamous 9-0 hammering at Old Trafford in March 1995, joined the Lilywhites for a three-month loan spell during the 1999-2000 season and scored four goals in 18 games.

Moyes is expected to be named as Ferguson’s successor, having had 11 years at Goodison Park.

“He is willing to work, like Sir Alex has, to build teams and manages with honesty,” said Mathie.

“I worked with him at Preston and is similar to Ferguson in the way he loves the game.

“He is a big enough name to do the job and has dealt with some big characters at Everton like Duncan Ferguson and Paul Gascoigne.”

Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp have also been linked, but Mathie believes the former, inparticular, would not be the right fit.

“There would be too many egos and I can’t see Fergie disappearing altogether, he will still have an influence like Sir Matt (Busby) did,” he said.

“They will want someone that brings longievity, rather than someone who will stay for two or three season, and Moyes fits that category.”

Meanwhile, Mathie still vividly recalls that dark day at Old Trafford 18 years ago when five goals from his former team-mate at Newcastle United, Andrew Cole, helped United storm to a record Premier League victory.

“We were going through a rebuilding process at Ipswich under a new manager in George Burley and Manchester United were untouchable,” he recalled.

“In remember it was 8-0 with 25 minutes to go and I saw Sir Alex telling his players to calm down. I don’t think he wanted to humiliate us anymore.

“That team was phenomenal and every player knew their jobs.

“We actually had a shot at goal in the first 10 minutes but it was one-way traffic after that and I remember Ian Marshall hiding behind a goalpost because he did not want to go on!”