Ronald Koeman has admitted Everton’s board are ‘a little worried’ about the club’s current plight but says he is the man to spark a change in fortunes.
Everton’s desperate run of form now reads as two wins from their last 12 matches and patience amongst supporters is wearing thin, with a growing number clamouring for change.
Koeman now faces a demanding run that will see his team play Arsenal and Leicester in the Premier League, Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Lyon in the Europa League. He has to start winning.
Ronald Koeman has admitted Everton’s board are a ‘little worried’ by his side’s form
The Toffees lost against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night to continue their slump
Koeman is aware of the pressure he is under but he has faith that he can turn things around and said: ‘It’s not time to talk and to mention reasons why. We need to take this situation, what the situation is now and prepare our team for Sunday.
‘Of course, we have discussions inside and can speak about tough fixtures and tough start to Premier League and Europa League football, but the position in the table is not the position where Everton need to be in. That’s what we need to change.
‘Is still believe in the players and believe in the signings that we did in the summer.
‘Maybe everybody can have some doubts about several signings at the moment but the future will tell everyone that the signings we did were really good signings.’
Koeman was visibly frustrated but is convinced his side will improve in the coming weeks
And while he revealed daily contact from the board, he said it did not concern him: ‘Of course, we have daily contact, weekly contact. But everybody is of course a little bit worried about the situation. But that’s normal.’
Frustration boiled over at Goodison Park on Thursday night, leading to incidents involving fans and a tempestuous atmosphere.
Even so, Koeman does not believe he has to try and bring supporters back to his side: ‘I don’t feel I need to win the fans (over). It’s about winning.
‘I was happy with reaction of fans after game, they supported the players as they did everything to win the game and that was nice to see.
‘If they are against the manager that’s about losing and not winning, that’s normal.’
The Dutch manager does not think he has to win the fans over again despite their form
He seems confident that victory can come against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, pointing to previous wins against the Premier League’s biggest sides and a fresh squad.
‘If you look back to last season we had some great games at home against really the big teams in the Premier League,’ he added. ‘Why not against Arsenal? Arsenal are not unbeatable, they are not the strongest team away from home this season.
‘We know we need to improve and play better and if we bring the fight on the pitch and aggression on the pitch in a good way then we have a good chance to win the game.
‘They rested 10 players that may start on Sunday. We took some decisions to rest some players for Sunday. It is a great game to play.’