KOEMAN: WIN THIS FOUR ME
Home run can save struggling Toffees boss
RONALD KOEMAN has challenged his Everton players to win the next four games to rescue their season – and his position.
Koeman is under mounting pressure at Goodison Park because of a woeful run of four straight losses. They have conceded 12 and failed to score in those matches, while sliding into the bottom three.
The bookmakers have cut the odds on the Blues boss getting the chop and the Dutchman knows he must put a halt to Everton’s worrying slump.
Tonight’s Carabao Cup tie against Sunderland at Goodison is the first of four successive home games for the Toffees before the international break – and Koeman wants four victories.
After Sunderland, Everton face Bournemouth, Apollon Limassol and Burnley and the manager knows these fixtures provide the opportunity to rebuild the team’s battered self-belief.
While the Dutchman’s position is not under immediate threat, failure to address the club’s form in those games would lead to some difficult questions in the Blues boardroom.
“We need a win because a win is the best medicine to grow your confidence,” said Koeman. “It’s really difficult to keep the players confident. We have started recent matches afraid, and maybe that’s normal if you have a difficult start to the season.
“We have also played against four title contenders, as well as in the Europa League on Thursdays. Now we have four home games before the next international break. We need to win them.”
Everton’s miserable form is beginning to put a strain on the manager’s relationship with the supporters who did not expect to see their side in the relegation zone after the club spent a record £145million in the summer.
Koeman is adamant the team will bounce back and saw signs of a recovery in Sunday’s loss at Manchester United, despite the 4-0 scoreline. “We had a good reaction,” he said. “We spoke about needing more desire. Last Thursday against Atalanta was really poor and in every aspect we had to show more aggression and more football, and we did.
“If we take the positives from how we played on Sunday, I have the belief we can get a win.”
Everton’s meagre tally of 10 shots on target is the second fewest in the Premier League, and Wayne Rooney’s drinkdriving ban is an added unwelcome distraction.
Yet Gylfi Sigurdsson insists the players have the quality and experience to pull out of their nosedive. “We will stay together, stay positive and keep working,” said the midfielder. “A lot of us have been
Everton and Sunderland will ditch their usual sponsorship logos tonight to promote the Bradley Lowery Foundation. The six-year-old Black Cats fan died from neuroblastoma – a rare type of cancer – in July, and now both clubs aim to raise money for the charity bearing
his name. in this kind of position before, where things are not going your way.”