Koeman’s a six-hitter with Jose in sights
EVERTON are in seventh heaven in the Premier League table – but boss Ronald Koeman is targeting a final fling to break into the top six.
Koeman does not believe Everton have to settle for seventh place behind the top flight’s big hitters.
And he will battle until the bitter end as the Toffees closed to four points behind Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.
Everton’s 2-0 victory over Sunderland left Koeman’s scrappers unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games with Idrissa Gueye and Romelu Lukaku grabbing the goal headlines.
Koeman, though, is demanding more from Lukaku and wants his players to have something to fight for from now until the end of the season.
He said: “The worst thing for a player is that he plays for nothing. You aim for the highest position in the table. I like to play for something until the end of the season.
“Above us there’s a gap but we know some teams need to play tomorrow. It is possible to reach them.
“If we keep the momentum and clean sheets everything is possible. It is never ended even at five or six points.”
Lukaku scored his eighth goal in five games at Goodison in 2017 and Koeman is adamant that his big striker does not rest on his laurels.
Koeman added: “It is a long way from being top-scorer to be winning games and we know we need to work hard.
“We know one of his big qualities is scoring goals. He is strong. He is fast and is one of the best at finishing. But he can improve in his runs and to give options.”
David Moyes was critical of his Sunderland side’s first-half performance after arriving back at his old club with a gameplan.
He said: “I thought we were really poor in the first half. I wanted to frustrate the crowd and keep them quiet.
“But we didn’t play well when we got the ball. We gave it away. And I was glad when we went in only 1-0 down.”
But Moyes was clutching at straws when he suggested that had video technology NOT been available, Sunderland may have been awarded a goal after Jermain Defoe’s shot crashed down off the crossbar but bounced short of the line.
“Jermain makes a great bit of space to try to get it and, but for technology, it may have been given as a goal,” said the Scot, whose side are bottom of the table.