Ronald Koeman has challenged his Everton squad to stand up and be counted as they seek to end a four-game winless run by defeating West Ham.
The Toffees boss admits that each passing game without a win means moving closer to the dreaded ‘must-win’ game but he says he is not panicking.
While recent results have been underwhelming, the Dutchman is adamant that the strong characters within the squad will see Everton turn the corner sooner rather than later.
“Of course, we know if you don’t win in your last four in the Premier League, then every time you come more close to a must-win game.
We need to turn it around,” the Dutchman said. “You get in difficult, tough times and then, really, you need to support each other. That’s important.
“We need now really the personalities to turn it around. And I think we have enough personalities in the team.” Everton haven’t won since beating Middlesbrough on September 17.
They’ve lost at Bournemouth, drawn with Crystal Palace and Manchester City and also come undone at Burnley last weekend. That game at Turf Moor saw Everton dominating but failing to make it count on the scoreboard.
Koeman is eager not to see a repeat and is urging his players to be much more clinical in the final third, while he openly admits that striker Romelu Lukaku is carrying too much of a burden to score goals.
“Overall I am happy about the defensive organisation in the team, but not our offensive aspect,” Koeman said. “We need to improve and be more clinical.
We need to have more productivity. It’s a big difference between Romelu and the rest in scoring goals and we need to make that better.”
Everton are 1.83 to defeat West Ham while Lukaku can be backed at 4.20 to score the opening goal.
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