Ronald Koeman tells Jose Mourinho to 'be realistic' after claiming Everton should challenge for top-four spot

  • Manchester United scored three goals in the final 10 minutes against Everton 
  • Ronald Koeman believes his side deserved more from Old Trafford given display
  • Koeman's men have conceded 12 goals and failed to score once in four defeats
  • Romelu Lukaku described his ear-cupping celebration as 'just a bit of banter' 

Ronald Koeman pleaded for patience following Everton's latest defeat at Old Trafford and snapped back at Jose Mourinho for suggesting they should be Champions League contenders.

Mourinho used his programme notes to mention Koeman's £140million summer spending on players and claim that Manchester United were facing 'a team that wants to at least secure a top-four position this season'.

Everton look anything but that right now after a brutal run of fixtures that has brought four straight defeats, with 12 goals conceded and none scored.

Ronald Koeman was quickly down the tunnel after Manchester United ran riot late on

Ronald Koeman was quickly down the tunnel after Manchester United ran riot late on

The Everton manager replaced Wayne Rooney with the score at 1-0 and the floodgates opened

The Everton manager replaced Wayne Rooney with the score at 1-0 and the floodgates opened

Koeman felt the United manager was putting him under unfair pressure and was not afraid of saying so in his after-match analysis.


He said: 'I read the programme about Everton spending £140m and so they need to go for the top four. If there's anybody who sees this as something realistic for us, please comment. I'm not happy how we started the season, but please be a bit realistic about Everton. We need time, but it's difficult in football.'

At the end of a week when another Dutchman, Frank de Boer, lost his job after a handful of games at Crystal Palace, Koeman's position is beginning to look a little precarious. He can point to the fact that Everton have already faced Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and now United in the Premier League while juggling Europa League commitments.

But he can expect to come under increasing scrutiny in the next three league fixtures against Bournemouth, Burnley and Brighton. Fail to show a marked improvement in those games and Everton's current slump will threaten to turn into a crisis. 

Koeman saw signs of improvement in his team's display but the results make grim reading

Koeman saw signs of improvement in his team's display but the results make grim reading

Jose Mourinho used his programme notes to talk up Everton's Champions League chances

Jose Mourinho used his programme notes to talk up Everton's Champions League chances

Mourinho finally gets one over Koeman 

Jose Mourinho finally beat Ronald Koeman at the sixth time of asking.

The Manchester United manager had drawn four and lost one of his previous meetings with the Dutchman. 

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'Every manager in life has doubts,' added Koeman. 'There is no one who has no doubts in life, in football, as a manager. If you don't win, you know you have a big number of players in your squad and you have doubts as to the system to play. But that is normal and, of course, I ask myself the question why?

'You can support players and give them confidence but still we started afraid. Maybe that is normal with the start of the season and the fixtures.

'We played City, United, Chelsea away and Tottenham home — four title contenders with Europa League between on the Thursday.

'Now we have four games at home in different competitions. We need to win. If you don't win it is better to stop. But I saw a reaction in the team today. I felt there is something possible here. I wasn't so impressed by United. That is maybe strange after a 4-0 defeat but they were really clinical and we didn't deserve this.'

Everton self-destructed as United's second goal came from an awful Ashley Williams mistake

Everton self-destructed as United's second goal came from an awful Ashley Williams mistake

Still, there is little doubt that Everton's problems are partly self-inflicted. Having sold Romelu Lukaku to United for £75m, they have failed to replace him with an out-and-out striker.

If anything was clear from Wayne Rooney's final years at Old Trafford, it was that he is no longer capable of filling that role at the highest level over the course of an entire season.

Nearly £70m has been spent on Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen, both No 10s in the Rooney mould. Too much emphasis was placed on the failed pursuit of Olivier Giroud and the transfer window closed with Everton short of firepower.

It is now five hours and 25 minutes since Rooney scored their last Premier League goal at the Etihad and he missed another two good chances on Sunday.

Lukaku also squandered one but then set up the killer second goal and added the third himself. The wild celebration was understandable for a player who, unlike Rooney, was booed by his old supporters.

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring the third goal in the final minute of normal time on Sunday

Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring the third goal in the final minute of normal time on Sunday

'He knows there is no pressure from me for goalscoring,' said Mourinho. 'My pressure is for the tactical plan, for the organisation of the team, and he knew that I was totally happy with him. So there was no reason to lose any confidence.

'In the first 30 minutes it was not competitive. There was only one team playing, another team looking.

'If you go to the other 30 minutes you had a game with two teams and it was more difficult for us. But in the last part of the game, we killed them.'

Victory sent United joint top of the table with City once again, but Mourinho was at pains to play down a growing rivalry with Pep Guardiola that many were surprised did not materialise last season.

'Today I didn't think for one single second about Manchester City,' he added. 'I thought about Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool. They didn't win their matches and it was a chance for us to get two points.

'City won the game and did their job. I was thinking about the others. When I saw their results, I thought it was an opportunity we cannot waste.'

Lukaku cupped his ear in the direction of the Everton supporters after stroking in his goal

Lukaku cupped his ear in the direction of the Everton supporters after stroking in his goal