EVERTON manager David Moyes today paid tribute to the Liverpool fans who died at Hillsborough as a city united in grief.

It is not just the Reds and their support who mourn the loss of 96 fans in Sheffield at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Followers of Everton held up a banner at Villa Park on Sunday during the 3-3 draw with Aston Villa demanding 'Justice for the 96' - emphasising the ongoing battle waged by the families of the victims in search of accountability for the tragedy.

Everton fans have always supported that fight, and Moyes said: "I do not think it only unites this city, it unites the whole country because everybody felt the disaster."

Moyes was playing for Shrewsbury at the time and has his own memories of the day 20 years ago.

He said: "Hillsborough has had a great impact on me since I arrived on Merseyside as Everton manager seven years ago, as it did when it happened and I was still a player.

"I remember the day it happened - word was filtering through and I heard about it at half-time.

"Nobody initially understood it at the time. I was brought up in Glasgow where we had the Ibrox disaster where lots of Rangers supporters were killed on that day in something similar.

"But now I am reading about it, listening on the radio and watching TV and you realise that people went to a football match and never came back.

"I remember doing that with my dad as a young boy, a lot of parents take their children to games. But that time they did not come home, and that is something that should never have been allowed to happen.

"Let's just hope that it never does again."