Mick Rathbone Rathbone then returned to Preston North End as physiotherapist. He spent six years at the club, during which time they progressed from Division Three (the fourth tier of English football) to the play-off for a place in the Premier League, latterly as part of David Moyes' backroom staff. When Moyes joined Everton as manager in March 2002, Rathbone followed a few months later after the clubs had agreed compensation. He spent nearly eight years at the club, becoming head of sports medicine, a post he left in May 2010 after what the "Liverpool Echo" described as "a tumultuous season of
David Moyes and a 2–1 home defeat by West Bromwich Albion, with several journalists stating the pressure was now on despite it being early in his reign. On 2 September 2013, Moyes signed Marouane Fellaini on a four-year contract, with the option of extension of another season, reuniting with his former player in a £27.5 million deadline day deal. In December, Manchester United lost Premier League matches at home to Everton and Newcastle United in the space of four days, suffering back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford for the first time since the 2001–02 season. United were ninth in the table after