If I were an Everton fan, I’d be disappointed with the lack of ambition shown by Ronald Koeman following his side’s 4-0 defeat away to Manchester United on Sunday.
United boss Jose Mourinho said in his programme notes that the Toffees were capable of ‘at least’ a top four finish this season, especially after spending £140 million (Dh698 million) over the summer.
However, after the game, the Dutchman said a top four finish was unrealistic and made it his target just to do ‘the same as last season’.
Last season, in what was Koeman’s first at Goodison Park, Everton finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League.
The Merseysiders may have lost Romelu Lukaku to Man United and Gerard Deulofeu to Barcelona over the summer, but they brought in the likes of Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen, among others.
Now, after four defeats in a row — three in the Premier League against Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United, and one in the Europa League against Atalanta — Koeman obviously can’t afford to sound too bullish, as that would only heap more pressure on himself if he can’t quickly turn things around.
But to come out and say that they’re just hoping to do the same as last season, is a tad too conservative to accept also.
Koeman is damned either way, whatever stance he takes, and Mourinho the mind-game-player has left him in a real spot with his comments.
For the Dutchman to reply to Mourinho’s musings with such brutal honesty was perhaps refreshing, and he might be right, they’ve got more fixtures with their Europa League involvement this season, and it will take time for their new signings to bed in.
However, last season they looked positive and took some big scalps. They’ve opened this season with a tough run against big sides, who they would expect to lose against anyway, so there’s no need to be overly negative, as they will, no doubt, bounce back at home to Bournemouth and Burnley next up.
After finishing seventh in his first season at Southampton in 2014/15, where he also qualified for the Europa League, Koeman went on to finish sixth the following year even with additional Europa League fixtures and player changes to contend with.
I know that’s only a slight improvement but it’s one that could have been reflected in his comments, as that is why Everton have hired him, to take things forward.
He didn’t need to go out gung-ho with a ‘top four or bust’ statement, but he could have at least sounded a bit more confident about progression. After all, fans and players thrive off confidence and that starts with the coach. In reality there’s nothing to stop Everton challenging for top four, they are ranked fourth in terms of how much they spent over the summer, so if they were to finish seventh again it would be a let down.
