KOEMAN CALLS ON FANS TO HELP KEEP LUKAKU
RONALD KOEMAN hopes Everton fans will continue to play their part in convincing Romelu Lukaku they can help him achieve his ambitions. The Belgian was given a thunderous ovation before Everton’s trouncing of Hull and even louder acclaim at the final whistle, after his late double took his Premier League tally to 21 for the campaign. Everton are still in talks with his agent Mino Raiola to try to and persuade Lukaku to change his mind after the 23-year-old said he was not prepared to sign a new deal. Koeman knows Lukaku will make the call on his next step, but the Everton manager was delighted that the home crowd did not turn on the striker after he had questioned the club’s ambition. ‘I’m happy that the fans were listening to me about his reception,’ said Koeman. ‘We like to keep our best players because we need them to make the next step. The final decision is normally always made by the player himself. Rom is different because we speak about (having) two years (left on his) contract but, the final decision is by the board.’ Lukaku emulated Bob Latchford’s feat of becoming the first Everton player to score in seven consecutive home games but the scoreline was not a true reflection of the contest. Hull were in the game until Tom Huddlestone was shown a red card in the 70th minute for a lunge at Idrissa Gueye. And Hull manager Marco Silva may launch an appeal to avoid losing a key player. ‘If he is not available to play, we will have to find solutions,’ Silva said. ‘He is an important player for us. We will have a look (at the tackle again) and after we will see if we appeal.’ SUPER STAT: Enner Valencia has only played 96 minutes for Everton in 2017. In the time he has been on the pitch, though, they have scored eight goals EVERTON (4-2-3-1) Robles 6; Coleman 6.5, Williams 6, Jagielka 7, Baines 7; Gueye 7, Schneiderlin 7 (Barry 30min, 7); Barkley 8, Davies 7 (Valencia 76, 7), Calvert-Lewin 7 (Funes Mori 56, 6); Lukaku 7.5. Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Lennon, Lookman. Booked: Williams, Barry. Scorers: Calvert-Lewin 8, Valencia 76, Lukaku 90, 90. HULL CITY (5-4-1) Jakupovic 6; Elabdellaoui 5, Davies 6 (Grosicki 64, 6), Maguire 7, Ranocchia 6, Robertson 6; Markovic 4 (Elmohamady 86), Huddlestone 7, N’Diaye 7, Clucas 6.5; Hernandez 6 (Diomande 82). Subs not used: Marshall, Meyler, Maloney, Tymon. Sent off: Huddlestone. Man of the match: Ross Barkley. Referee: Paul Tierney 6.