Our job is to go and deliver a performance of our own
Burnley travel to Goodison Park tomorrow to play Everton and that means a fifth game against the Clarets for their manager Ronald Koeman, the first two of which came when he was in charge of Southampton.
Koeman has been looking at different options in his attempts to get his team, who finished seventh last season, moving again and saw an improvement during Thursday’s Europa League game against Apollon Limassol.
Ahead of tomorrow’s game, he said: “First of all, we must support the players, pick the best team to start the game and give the players different options to play forwards. We started aggressively (against Limassol) but we did not start well on the ball. That lowered confidence in the team and gave our opponents the boost to play comfortably in the first half.
“The second half was much better, different from the first half, and that is what we spoke about this morning, how we can make the team more aggressive, play more direct balls, do not play too short, do not take risks in the build up, play simple balls and keep the ball. Then the confidence can grow in the team, and that is what you need to play football.”
“It is all about being concentrated on second balls, but also in our ball possession we need to be more direct. It is important to pick a team that can play that type of football.”
With this being Everton, and they having bought Michael Keane in the summer, Sean Dyche took the opportunity to speak about him and, more so, James Tarkowski this week. He said of him: “I have spoken about the work done by my staff and the players themselves taking ownership of their situations and how important that is.
“Tarky is a great example of that, as is Kevin Long. For 18 months, Tarky had to sit and be very patient, with just the odd game here and there, but he has kept on working on all the details it takes and piece it together to make sure he can deliver. We are all enjoying his performances and I’m sure he is too.”
Having not made as good a start as expected, there’s been a lot of talk about Everton, and Dyche said: “I know their manager has spoken about apprehension, but it is difficult to mould a team. I think they have brought in some very good players but you still have to mould them into what you think is a team that can win. That’s a challenge, but they are still a good side and we will still have to work hard and play well.
“I’ve made it clear many, many times that I take all teams seriously no matter what their ups and downs, and when you look at the players on the list and the team they are putting out, they are a decent side. It’s just not clicking for whatever reason, so our job is to go and deliver a performance of our own.”
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