STEVEN Naismith’s re-emergence circa September 2018 as Scotland’s most pre-eminent striker has surprised many but his old manager David Moyes is not one of them. “I’m just surprised that people are surprised,” the former Everton and Manchester United manager muses over a cup of tea at Ayr racecourse yesterday.

Since being shown the door by West Ham this summer – scant reward for the short-term fire-fighting job he did there – Moyes has been busily expanding his knowledge base with a view to new challenges ahead. Ideally, those opportunities will be back in the Premier League, although a recent trip to the USA, where he watched the national team beat Mexico then took in a New York City match suggests he may be prepared to venture further afield for gainful employment. With offers from China, Saudie Arabia and the Championship in England so far not to his liking, he will be back in London this coming weekend, taking in Fulham v Watford and QPR v Norwich before a stint on the Goals on Sunday coach. But his interest in Scottish football, as much as his interest in horse racing – he and former Stranraer manager Neil Watt co-owned a horse called Desert Cry – will always call him home.

Naismith, who he brought to Merseyside from the financial chaos at Rangers, never showed his best football in their one season together at Everton. But the 31-year-old has proved his staying power by rattling in nine goals already this season and supplanting Leigh Griffiths in the main striking role for his country. Moyes regarded him as enough of a thoroughbred that he almost talked him in to signing him for Sunderland two seasons ago.

“Naisy is a brilliant pro and I think he was a bit unlucky at times during his career,” said Moyes. “I signed him at Everton and there were a couple of occasions after I moved when I might have taken him again, but for different reasons it wasn’t able to happen. I nearly got him to Sunderland when he was at Norwich but for him it was probably good that it didn’t happen that way.

“He’s wholehearted, and he’s scored big goals against very good teams,” Moyes added. “To be fair his first year at Everton he found quite difficult, but not many hit the ground running. In his second year, he did really well and he’s a really clever player. It will help to have his age and experience in the squad. He’s also a good ambassador for football with the things he does for good causes off the pitch.”

Involved in the recruitment process when Brendan Rodgers landed the Celtic job two and a bit seasons back, Moyes might of course have had a more hands-on involvement in Scottish football but for now he has happy to cast his eye over things from afar. While he feels more must be done to assist the development of our players, he sees a renewal of interest in the top league north of the border as two of his old adversaries from across Stanley Park lock horns in Glasgow.

Much like the man who he had the misfortune to replace at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson, he derives “great pride” from the fact his fingerprints can be spotted on a second generation of coaches like Queen of the South boss Gary Naysmith, Scotland No 3 James McFadden and former Rangers assistant David Weir. You could even throw Mikel Arteta into that mix with Manchester City.

“I enjoyed my spell at West Ham last season; we did a really good job and we were disappointed when the contracts weren’t renewed,” he said. “So working in England remains my preference and there are a limited number of posts in Scotland which would interest me. But I’m fortunate in that I don’t need to accept any deal which comes along. I still have ambitions to get back to the top ... but I don’t have to start at the bottom again.

“The profile of the Scottish game has been boosted and there’s no-one who wants to boost it more than I do; I’ve always championed that cause,” he added. “Brendan Rodgers has done a brilliant job at Celtic. Qualifying for the Champions League is always the ambition, though, and he’ll be disappointed at having missed out this time.

“A lot of people will argue moving up here is not a good move for Steven Gerrard but I think it’s a really good move,” Moyes added. “He will benefit more from coming to Scotland than he would do from taking a job in the English Championship. It doesn’t matter how good a player you have been you have to start out somewhere, look at Zidane coaching the B team at Madrid. He will be under huge pressure at Rangers. However, he’s been under that sort of pressure since he was 16 so he will deal with it.”

**David Moyes was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of Saturday’s Ayr Gold Cup race.’