Koeman in wake-up call to disappointing Toffees

BOSS Ronald Koeman emphasised it was time for Everton to wake up after the Toffees produced another woeful display last night.

Koeman’s men conceded three times in the first-half as they were beaten 3-0 by Atalanta in their Europa League Group E opener in Reggio Emilia.

The Dutchman had stressed beforehand the need for Everton, who spent considerably on a raft of new signings over the summer, to “react” in Italy after performing so poorly in Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Tottenham.

Their subsequent showing drew plenty of boos and jeers from Everton fans at the Mapei Stadium.

And Koeman said in his post-match press conference: “The team is far away from what we need to show. I think most of the players are not at the level we expect. It’s now time that we showed this is really the wake-up call.”

Everton’s next match is a daunting trip to Manchester United on Sunday.

Koeman, who made six changes to his starting XI for yesterday’s contest, was in no mood afterwards for making excuses about how the side had performed.

Having said he shared the fans’ anger, he issued an apology to them in the press conference.

He also posted a message on Instagram, in which he said: “A really poor first half in all aspects, without the right attitude and I am responsible.”

And Koeman admitted in the press conference the match had left him questioning his ability to prepare his players. “It’s a big lesson today,” he said. “I thought it was happening after the third goal against Tottenham, but OK — I need to ask myself the question, what I did wrong.”