ANGRY KOEMAN DEMANDS EVERTON ‘WAKE UP’
RONALD KOEMAN arranged a no- holdsbarred emergency summit with his senior Everton players after admitting his deep concerns about the poor start to the season.
Furious Koeman (below) described the 3-0 Europa League defeat by Atalanta on Thursday as a “wake-up call”. It was his side’s third consecutive loss and a reaction is needed before visiting Manchester United tomorrow. Long-serving players such as Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines, as well as recent-signing Wayne Rooney, met the manager to discuss the dire form, Koeman demanding the same enraged response he showed when addressing the side in Italy. “It was a lot of anger at halftime,” said Koeman. “I prefer to keep my mouth shut after the game because the problem is the first half and not in the second half.
“I think you need always personalities in players and it’s not always about how the manager needs to react or who the manager likes to change. We also need personalities who talk and criticise to make the team better, get a better understanding, and to show everybody we will fight for the better period. We need to change and that’s the most important thing for Sunday. It’s different than it was 30 years ago. But I know and believe we have enough of those people in our dressing room. Sunday is a game for men and experience. They need to show it. Thursday was painful. I will have a meeting with the players. It is the time for experienced players to stand up. I am worried about what I saw. It was a wake-up call.”
Koeman accepted heightened expectations added to the pressure, and a number of new recruits need to adjust. “I am worried about our aggression and how we defend,” he said. “I see how many spaces we give, letting them turn, not following your man, not defending your man. And, of course, confidence. Michael Keane is normally our best centre-back in our ball possession. Maybe now he has doubts in his football. If you have doubts instead of going front in defending you make a step back.
“Man United is a stronger side than last season and we are not at the level of last season. If we are defending how we defend in the last few games it will be Lukaku’s afternoon.”