FLIGHT...NOT FRIGHT

Koeman: Harden up to beat Kop hoodoo

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RONALD KOEMAN insists his Everton side have nothing to fear about going toe-to-toe with Liverpool at Anfield today.

And the Toffees boss wants the Blues to be aggressive as they look to end their hoodoo at the ground.

Everton have not won at the home of their bitter rivals since 1999 when Kevin Campbell scored a fourth-minute winner.

They were humiliated in a four-goal rout last season and Koeman believes they were intimidated by their cross-city rivals under previous boss Roberto Martinez.

Afraid

But he says their performance in this season’s Goodison Park fixture, despite Sadio Mane’s late winner for the Reds, is the blueprint for the Toffees to end their sticky run against their rivals.

He said: “I heard in the last two seasons they were too afraid to play against Liverpool. Why you need to be afraid, I don’t understand.

“It’s not afraid exactly, but afraid to play in a certain way. That is difficult.

“You know they will press and be aggressive and maybe Everton were not in the best way prepared for that type of football.

“At home, we went face-to-face and maybe 98 minutes was too long but that was a good impression of how I like to play and how we need to play against Liverpool.

“This Everton team is a different team from last season’s Everton and I hope that will

bring more confidence to know what you need to do to get a good result and not be afraid.”

If Everton win today they will be three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool then they face Manchester United on Tuesday where another good result could catapult them into the Champions League race.

They have lost just one of their last nine games and Koeman added: “I’m not worried the international break will stop our run, I’m not afraid.

“Of course we know that this game and also Manchester United on Tuesday evening are two tough games.

“We said if we do our job (in these away