‘Full support’ for Koeman
RONALD KOEMAN says he retains the “full and total support” of the Everton board after a meeting with majority owner Farhad Moshiri. The Toffees manager admits his side need to kick-start their campaign with a confidenceboosting victory against their toughest Europa League Group E opponents Lyon at Goodison Park tonight. But Koeman revealed talks with majority shareholder Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright last Friday – before the 1-1 Premier League draw against Brighton – were positive. “There was not really a message but the feeling is that they are behind the team, they are behind the manager,” said Koeman. “Everybody knows that is a nice thing but in football finally it is all about results. “Yes, Moshiri was here and also the chairman Bill Kenwright and more people from the board. Of course they had a good lunch and, yes, they spoke about football. But until now it is full, total support from the board.” The removal of Craig Shakespeare from the Leicester City hot-seat this week has catapulted Koeman to the head of the sack race betting lists following a run of just two wins in the past 11 matches in all competitions. Yet Koeman says that recent results have to be judged against the context of a difficult run of Premier League fixtures, with Arsenal following Lyon on Sunday. “It has been a tough start to the season and Sunday is the fifth game of nine against the first five teams in the Premier League of last season – that’s tough,” said Koeman. “But if we can finally get a good result against Lyon then to prepare the team for Sunday will be easier because the players maybe get a good boost from a good result. So that is what we need to do.”
Koeman is right to point to the testing fixture schedule as his side faced Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United back to back in late August and early September – a point against City their only reward.
But defeat against more humble opposition in Burnley and Sunday’s draw against Brighton has loaded fresh pressure on his shoulders. And with Everton sitting at the foot of their European group after two matches against Atalanta and Cypriot team Apollon Limassol, on just one point, the wolf is starting to paw at the door of the manager’s office. That is not lost on Koeman. “With one point out of two matches we need a win, and especially a win at home if we are to have a good possibility to go through in this tournament,” he said.
Lyon sit a point better off after two draws against Atalanta and Limassol and arrived on Merseyside having ended a run of one win in eight matches in all competitions with a 3-2 win over Monaco last Friday in Ligue 1.
“The way they play is offensively and I like their style with some high-quality players,” said Koeman.
“They also had a fine game last week against Monaco and finally got the win, so it will be a tough game.”