Everton are so awful, Unsworth would be better off as caretaker of a maximum-security prison

FOR all his futile words about wanting to lead this rabble permanently, there was a look on David Unsworth’s face after Southampton’s third of four goals that suggested he might well be better off when the job finally goes elsewhere.

He looked tortured, utterly despondent at the sheer ineptness of this side, too angry to even bother leaving his seat.

And why wouldn’t he be? There was no surprise about what happened here because it is happening every game.

The only question is whether the new guy is any better at solving the riddle of this expensive, gutless squad than the current one, who has now lost five of his seven games as caretaker.

On this basis, you’d rather be caretaker at a maximum-security prison. An inmate, even.

One statistic in particular told the tale of how poor Everton were in this game — Southampton had scored only four goals from open play all season and here they were noticeably disappointed to only double it. The truth is that Everton somehow managed to make Southampton look like Manchester City. Too good to go down? No chance. e. They were weak before Dusan Tadic adic got this rout ut started, flattered d to deceive when n Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a beauty on the stroke of half- time, and defended atrociously for Charlie Austin’s two o headers. When n Steven Davis made ade it 4-1, it was the least either side deserved. ved.

It might well be Unsworth’s last game considering the club’s belief an appointment is ‘imminent’, but even if the botched search for a successor is close to being resolved, the next man might well have doubts after a loss that was about as bad as the 5-1 hiding against Atalanta on Thursday.

Unsworth happens to believe the club isn’t in a relegation scrap, but that is ambition and loyalty getting the better of reality.

What is beyond doubt, and Unsworth agrees, is that the limbo of the manager situation needs solving urgently. ‘The club has to decide and the sooner that happens the better,’ he said. ‘The players need this resolving.

‘We’re in a tough place and things have to change quickly. We have a massive week ahead of us (with home games against West Ham and Huddersfield). I’ve never seen a team that needs its fans more than we do at the moment.’

But it will take more than a supportive crowd to change this side. Take the second and third goals, which were mirror images with Michael Keane and Ashley Williams doing woeful jobs of defending identical crosses to the near post.

Each time they allowed Austin between them, unmarked.

There was also the opening goal when Leighton Baines managed only the weakest of challenges on Tadic, and a chance that Austin put against a post shortly after Sigurdsson was outmuscled by Cedric Soares, all 5ft 6in of him. Losing the physical skirmishes, the battles of will, is always a bad look in a struggling side.

The manager deserves blame for the repeated organisational failures of his defence — 20 goals conceded in his tenure — and that issue will not be helped by the possible loss to a calf injury of Baines. BBut Unsworth was also fairf in putting this loss and others down to the players. Unsworth said: ‘WhenW we go into a ggame situation, if anything goes slightly against us wwe are conceding oopportunities but wwe are far too easy to score against and it is not good enough, it hahas to change. ‘ If it needs players coming backba or new players in January, something has to change. This group of players are underperforming, whether it is Ronald Koeman in charge or me.’

On Joey Barton, who used Twitter to say Unsworth was ‘ responsible’ for the loss, the caretaker replied: ‘When we start listening to what Joey Barton has to say, it is time for everyone to go home.’

For Southampton and Mauricio Pellegrino, what a relief after winning just one of their previous seven league games. Ryan Bertrand was superb and made the opener for Tadic, Austin scored his first goals in open play since facing Everton a year ago to the day, and Sofiane Boufal was masterful with his tricks.

Perhaps most impressive was the resilience once Sigurdsson had levelled with a shot that hit the bar, then a post and then the bar again before crossing.

Pellegrino had been under pressure, but now he can breathe a little easier. He said: ‘In football, character is everything, to try to play well, with good ideas, with spirit. We did. I’m really happy with this.’

Unsworth, by contrast, can only imagine the feeling.