Moyes 'big supporter' of players taking part in Ramadan

A relaxed David Moyes was back facing the media on Friday morning after returning from Everton's warm weather training trip to United Arab Emirates during the week.

The Toffees squad were training in the shadow of the magnificent Sheikh Zayed mosque in Abu Dhabi, while the Muslim contingent in the squad - and around the world - marked the start of Ramadan.

The Premier League has confirmed that, as in previous years, captains of clubs with Muslim players will be able to agree with match officials to find a natural pause in a fixture to allow those players or match officials to break their fast.

I asked Moyes if he may have to manage the minutes of the Muslim players in the squad, such as Idrissa Gueye, and he said: "All the managers are in this situation where we have boys doing Ramadan. We all support it and back it.

"It started while we were in Abu Dhabi and the players started their fasting. A lot of the players have become good at knowing how to manage it and how to deal with it.

"The authorities do a really good job in having water breaks for the players who need it. I am a big supporter of the boys who do it and will back them until the end of Ramadan."

Once the cameras had switched off, there was a nice touch from Moyes asking if I was fasting and how I dealt with Ramadan.

He explained he got to know more about the Islamic holy month from working with Muslim players at West Ham, such as Kurt Zouma and Mohammed Kudus, and said the Everton chef was up at 4am to cook breakfast for the relevant players out in the UAE.