‘I make no secret I want job’

has come to say that and I make no secret of it at all.”

Unsworth, who was interviewed for the job after Roberto Martinez was sacked in May 2016, would be a popular appointment with the players and chairman Bill Kenwright.

However, the club are set to do their due diligence with other candidates with Burnley boss Sean Dyche, former Everton captain Phil Neville and ex-Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel all in the frame.

After tonight, Everton face league games with Leicester and Watford either side of a Europa League clash with Lyon.

Unsworth, who has been promoted from his role as the club’s Under-23 coach and academy manager, addressed Everton’s squad yesterday in a bid to kick-start their season. This will be the second time he has held the manager’s job on an interim basis, having taken charge for one game at the end of the season 18 months ago when Martinez was sacked.

Despite having longer to make his mark in the Everton dugout, Unsworth claims he does not feel under any extra pressure. He said: “The chairman, Farhad and the board have given me an amazing opportunity to hopefully get a run of games where performance levels go up and we produce some wins as well.

“We’ll see how we perform and see how results go. We’ll keep communicating and take it from there, week by week.

“Performances and results will dictate any future for me as Everton manager. I don’t see myself under any pressure at all. I’m going to enjoy it.”