Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WILL THIS CHAOS EVER END?
Unsworth warns Blues must act quickly or face disaster Martin O’neill shock name on shortlist for new manager Still no deal with axed Koeman over his Goodison pay-off
DAVID UNSWORTH admits Everton need to appoint a permanent manager... fast.
Unsworth welcomed majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri’s claim that the club are “close” to naming Ronald Koeman’s successor more than a month after sacking the Dutchman.
Caretaker boss Unsworth knows the club badly needs stability – Thursday’s 5-1 drubbing by Atalanta was their heaviest European home defeat.
“If we’re further down the line towards getting a permanent manager, that’s fantastic,” said Unsworth yesterday. “The sooner it’s sorted the better.”
Moshiri gave few details when he revealed Everton were close to making an appointment.
But it emerged last night that Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’neill is one of the names on the Blues’ shortlist.
Moshiri told TALKSPORT: “The first priority is to stabilise the club and finalise the appointment of a manager. We are close.
“It is really best to say nothing more until a new management team is appointed and we climb up the table.” But Moshiri’s claims were derided on social media by some fans who have become disillusioned with him – one tweeted: “Words mean nothing, the shambles goes on.”
Moshiri wants Marco Silva but Watford have rejected two approaches from Everton for their Portuguese boss, including an offer of more than £10million in compensation.
He knows he cannot let Everton drift any longer and the hammering by Atalanta has just deepened the crisis. Thursday night’s thrashing was Everton’s 11th loss in 17 games – a lucky victory over Watford, managed of course by Silva, their only win during that terrible run.
With confidence vanishing, the Blues are in danger of being sucked right into the relegation fight. Everton’s search for a boss has been shambolic from the moment Koeman was sacked.
Carlo Ancelotti quickly ruled himself out then the Blues tried to bring in a caretaker until a ‘big name’ could be appointed in the summer, only to ditch that plan because former England manager Sam Allardyce was not keen on a short-term role.
With the club’s hierarchy also divided over who to select, Unsworth was left in charge, but he has done little to stop the rot.
The successful Under-23s coach has lost four of his six games and the debacle against Atalanta was a new low watched by the second smallest European crowd ever at Goodison Park of just over 17,000.
Yet Unsworth, who made more than 300 appearances for the club, insists he is proud of the job he has done and pointed to his return of four points from three games to lift Blues clear of the bottom three.
He said: “I stand there proud and know the players, up until Thursday, were giving me absolutely everything. In the league we have won one, drawn one and lost one.
“This is a wonderful job for any manager. Who wouldn’t want to be Everton manager?
“It’s a wonderful place to be stood in front of so many passionate Everton fans.”