Moyes took over from Walter Smith as manager of Everton in March 2002. Under him, the club managed a fourth-place finish in the league in 2004–05, their highest finish since 1988, and played in the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League the following season, the first time they had taken part in UEFA's most prestigious cup competition since 1970–71. Moyes also led Everton to a runners-up finish in the 2008–09 FA Cup, their best performance in the competition since winning it in 1995. Everton consistently finished between fifth and eighth in the league under Moyes, and at the time of his departure, he was the longest-serving current manager in the league behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, at 11 years and 3 months.