STEVEN PIENAAR has backed Sunderland boss David Moyes to repeat his successful rebuilding of Everton at the Stadium of Light.

Pienaar spent eight seasons playing under Moyes at Goodison Park, in two separate spells, and watched the Scotsman transform Everton from perennial relegation strugglers to a side firmly established in the top half of the Premier League.

A top-ten position feels a long way off for Sunderland at the moment, with the club’s haul of two points from the opening eight matches equalling the record for the worst start to a Premier League campaign.

However, Pienaar is calling for patience when it comes to assessing Moyes’ impact since replacing Sam Allardyce in July. The South African accepts it will take time for the Black Cats boss to turn things around, but is confident his managerial mentor will eventually lead Sunderland to a similar position to the one he left behind when he swapped Everton for Manchester United.

“He’s going to need some time,” said Pienaar, who joined Sunderland as a free agent in August. “It’s not going to be over four months or five months or one year. He did it at Everton over 11 years, so he’s going to need time to build.

“But, you know, the signs are there. He’s given a lot of young players the chance to play, and that’s a start.

“It’s not going to happen over a few months, it’s a long-term process. But I see it, the infrastructure here. The club’s got all the support that it needs, the supporters are amazing.

“There are a lot of young players in the team, so why not? I think, definitely, in the next two or three years, it can happen.”

The more immediate priority is to secure a first league win of the season when Sunderland visit West Ham’s new London Stadium tomorrow.

Pienaar is pushing for a starting spot in East London, having come off the bench in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Stoke City, and Moyes clearly feels he can trust the 34-year-old despite his advancing years.

The respect is clearly mutual, with Pienaar regarding Moyes as one of the best managers he has played under during a career that has also seen him work with Ronald Koeman, Danny Blind, Harry Redknapp and Roberto Martinez.

“He’s one of the best I’ve worked with,” he said. “I’m a person who believes in honesty and hard work, and the manager’s the same. He doesn’t hide and, as a person, that’s something I like.”

Moyes has developed a reputation for being something of a hard task master, so having spent the best part of a decade playing for the Scotsman, has Pienaar been on the end of some choice words?

“Yeah, we’ve always had our differences,” he admitted. “Obviously, we have to go through the same door, but to have disagreement once in a while, it doesn’t hurt. I’ve had a few of them and I’ve learned not to step on his toes.”

West Ham striker Andy Carroll will not be available tomorrow after a setback in his recovery from a knee injury, but Slaven Bilic can call on summer signing Andre Ayew after the Ghanaian completed a quicker-than-expected recovery from a thigh problem.

Ayew was one of Allardyce’s leading targets at the start of the summer, only for the striker to eventually complete a £20.5m move to West Ham.