Koeman demands right response from Everton

RONALD KOEMAN wants Everton to immediately right the wrongs of Saturday’s home humbling by Tottenham in Italy tonight. The Toffees boss was furious when Spurs handed his side back-to-back top-flight defeats with a 3-0 rout at Goodison Park. Speaking ahead of their Europa League group-stage opener against Atalanta, the Dutchman believes his side will grasp the opportunity to bounce back quickly. ‘It is not what we expect from ourselves,’ said Koeman. ‘If you lose the game, you get another opportunity to put it right. So I am confident.’ He challenged his team, which will include last season’s tournament winner Wayne Rooney, to play with physicality at the Mapei Stadium, against opposition who finished fourth in Serie A last year. ‘We start with a strong team,’ Koeman said. ‘After last weekend we need to react. We lost belief and confidence. We didn’t play with the right aggression.’ Koeman added that he believes the competition is important regardless of Manchester United’s success last year, which handed them a Champions League spot despite a sixth-place finish. ‘I am the manager and I take this competition really seriously,’ he said. ‘To be part of Europe is important. We were out for many years but now we are back. Let’s hope the journey takes us a long way. ‘But we have to fight for it. You want to be in Europe — the Champions League — but, if not, the Europa League is important.’