6 KEANE AND EAGER
The former Burnley defender has hit a crossroads at Everton but Big Sam is backing him to find his confidence and his spark
SAM ALLARDYCE says he has seen enough from Michael Keane to know the defender can turn his Goodison career around. The England centre-half returns to his former club Burnley this weekend amid speculation about a move back to Turf Moor after a desperately disappointing start at Everton. Keane was expected to be a huge star for the Blues following his £30million move in the summer and to cement his place in the England side for the World Cup. That hasn’t happened, but Allardyce believes it still could. “I see enough to believe he will come through,” the Goodison chief said. “Obviously there has been a knock in confidence, with quite a few players. I think when you change football clubs and then the club struggles it’s about how much the player’s confidence has been knocked.
“But gradually Michael’s confidence is coming back.
“When you have had a knockback – and Michael and many other players here have had a knock-back – it’s about what next season will bring.
“Will he be ready to fight and be ready to say ‘this is the sort of player I really am’? Can he show that? That would be nice if he and other players could do that.” Like Allardyce himself, Keane has been subjected to rumours suggesting his tenure at Goodison will be short.
But the centrehalf’s form has begun to return in recent weeks after a prolonged run in the side following a series of niggling injuries. And his manager believes part of the problem has been the step-up from his former club to the Blues. “Our style of play is different to Burnley’s style of play where they play a more compact type of system and use it to make life difficult for the opponent, home or away,” he said. “We have to try to be a little bit more expansive, particularly at home, and that does leave defenders a little bit more open. “You have to learn to deal with that when you play for a club like Everton.” Three points for Everton today will put them level on points with Burnley, who are currently seventh. Everton have Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman back for the trip to Turf Moor.