Tarkowski: I’ve never felt so low
EVERTON’S descent into footballing hell on Monday night at Stamford Bridge prompted three things in the wake of Chelsea’s six-goal romp.
■ Travelling fans looking on in disbelief.
■ A stark realisation that relegation is genuinely staring them in the face.
■ And a feeling of player humiliation, confirmed by James Tarkowski.
Manager Sean Dyche (below) was left to claim minutes after defeat that what he had just seen was unacceptable for Everton, but defender Tarkowski went much further in his assessment of a battering that left the Toffees two points above the drop zone.
“It will be a long debrief,” he said. “Underperformed, the most embarrassed I have felt as an individual.
“We can only apologise to the fans who supported us. It is on the players, it is not on the manager and the staff.
“No excuses on our behalf, we need to brush ourselves down as we have a big few weeks coming up.
“We conceded six goals and you should feel embarrassed.”
Dyche said: “It was a horrible defeat, arguably the worst of my career. I am 500 games in, 300-odd in the Premier League as a manager, and that’s just an awful night.
“For our fans as well, we came with high expectations and actually started the game really well – exactly how we wanted to.
“We made them uncomfortable, we had a chance in the first minute or so, but you can’t defend like that.
“There’s no fight in the defending, no detail, no hard yards or tackling.
“It was bizarre, like shadow football for their goals.
“It was way off the mark, miles off the mark.
“The last time we were miles off was Villa away.
“We need to use this as a stark reminder – it certainly has been for me.”