ANCELOTTI: WE NEED GOOD RUN FOR EURO GLORY

CARLO ANCELOTTI admits he fears teams in the Premier League’s bottom six more than those in the European places.

Everton’s record is remarkable this season, with the Italian’s side recording better results against sides in the top six than those in the bottom seven places in the table.

And as he prepares for Monday night’s visit by a Southampton team who are seventh from bottom, boss Ancelotti (above, with Dominic Calvert-lewin) said: “I have to be worried because we are going to play against the teams at the bottom (over the next few weeks) where we have more problems.

“We have to be together to solve these kind of problems.

“I am convinced it is a really, really competitive league, a really difficult league. You only have to look at the results of English teams in Europe, to see the league is at a really high level.

“And you have to consider also that the teams at the bottom are doing well also. To play against Fulham, to play against Burnley, or Newcastle is not easy.

“To play against

Southampton is not easy.”

It is even more difficult for Everton to play them at home, where the Blues have lost to the likes of struggling Fulham and Newcastle, and Ancelotti knows that must improve if his team is going to challenge for Europe.

“If we want to fight for the European position we have to improve our home run at Goodison,” he said.

“We have to pay attention to what we were not able to do in the last home games against Fulham and Newcastle.

“We want to avoid the problems we had in the games before.”

ADAM LANIGAN

BY

THE critics are lining up to put the knife into Jose Mourinho’s time at Tottenham, but Sean Dyche will not be joining the queue.

The Burnley boss remains a big fan of the Portuguese and his long list of managerial achievements.

He has yet to get the better of Mourinho in nine attempts but a Clarets win tomorrow would make it six defeats in seven league games for Spurs, deepening their crisis.

“Jose has his share of people who question what he has done at various clubs,” said Dyche (above). “But guys like him have done amazing things with teams at amazing levels for years, so I have nothing but respect for him.

“That goes out of the window when the whistle goes. At pitchside everyone is fighting to win, but there is never a lack of respect.”

A win at Tottenham would be Burnley’s first since 1973. They had not won at Arsenal or Liverpool since 1974, but both of those have been put to bed this season. “Those experiences help,” said Dyche. “But the last one doesn’t guarantee the next one. It always comes back to performance.

“If you think you’ve got it sussed, you haven’t. And if you think one game is easier than another, it’s often not.”