SILVA CHANNELS HIS INNER JOSE
FIRST came the fist pumps and then came the finger waving. Three to be precise, because long after the game that took the edge off, Marco Silva wanted to make a point.
‘Do you know how significant it is for me?’ asked Everton’s manager after this win. ‘I will tell you. The last 20 games when Everton played Southampton away, Everton won just three games. Just three games in 20.’
A little like that other Portuguese chap, he was holding up the digits and getting animated. ‘Maybe for you it is “just” a win. Maybe for Everton it is a little bit more.’
No one quite had the heart to point out the differences between the Southampton sides of other years and one which more recently had been slapped for nine by Leicester. Besides, Everton and Silva deserve to enjoy their moment. There have not been nearly enough of them this season, not least on the road, where their previous win came on March 30.
The scrutiny on Silva’s position can decrease slightly with their climb to mid-table. He denied feeling pressure in the rut, but the strength of his reaction, both after Richarlison’s winner and in his press conference, suggests otherwise.
Recent results have been decent — wins over West Ham and Southampton, a draw with Tottenham and a defeat against Brighton based on a VAR blunder. But any excitement ought to be tempered by knowing that their December schedule includes Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. It is entirely feasible that by Christmas they could be right back in the mess again.
That is where Southampton are now. They have the worst home record since Birmingham in 2005 — a campaign that ended in relegation for the Blues. Without improvement, Southampton will follow suit.
It remains to be seen if Ralph Hasenhuttl will last the season. He is not wearing the stress of his situation lightly, and looked broken by this defeat.
Asked if he feared for his job, he politely said the only question he could focus on was that of how his team might improve. He evidently has no answer.