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David Unsworth watches Everton’s 3-0 defeat against Lyon in the Europa League
David Unsworth watches Everton’s 3-0 defeat against Lyon in the Europa League. Photograph: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
David Unsworth watches Everton’s 3-0 defeat against Lyon in the Europa League. Photograph: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

David Unsworth ignores insults and insists only Everton defeats hurt

This article is more than 6 years old
Caretaker manager goes into Watford game saying ‘my hurt is with our fans’
Unsworth says struggling Everton just need a win to restore confidence

David Unsworth has said he is hurting because of Everton’s desperate results and not the personal insults that have been thrown his way since becoming caretaker manager.

Unsworth will take temporary charge of Everton for the fourth and possibly final time on Sunday when Watford visit Goodison Park. The academy manager’s hopes of succeeding Ronald Koeman on a permanent basis have been damaged by three consecutive away defeats, at Chelsea, Leicester and Lyon, the last of these sending Everton out of the Europa League and extending their appalling run to 10 losses in 14 games.

The former Everton defender has also suffered personal criticism during his second spell at the helm, notably from Joey Barton, who not only questioned Unsworth’s tactics and close relationship with the chairman, Bill Kenwright, but his appearance. Unsworth has refused to respond to the criticism but he admits being pained by the failure to arrest Everton’s alarming slide.

“I’m not bothered about comments about myself, it really is not a problem,” said Unsworth. “I am hurting because we are not winning games and that is really important to me. I’m hurting when I see thousands of fans travel over to Lyon and to Chelsea and Leicester and we don’t get the result for them. Any personal insult, be it funny, not meant or really personal, does not interest me. My hurt is with our fans. We need to keep our fans with us and that is what is most important to me.”

Unsworth has said Everton need to decide on Koeman’s successor sooner rather than later and Farhad Moshiri, the club’s major shareholder, is expected to make an appointment during the international break.

Burnley’s Sean Dyche remains in the frame after Nuno Espirito Santo declined an offer to leave Wolves. A short-term appointment is possible given the lack of outstanding candidates available mid-season and Unsworth is uncertain what a victory over Watford could do for his chances.

“A win would certainly ease the anxiety but I can’t answer about my own position because I honestly don’t know,” he said. “I just want to get the win for the club and the players because the players need to get that confidence rolling.”

Koeman paid with his job for a seriously imbalanced squad, one for which he and the director of football, Steve Walsh, are responsible, and its deficiencies were again evident during the 3-0 defeat in France on Thursday. Unsworth started without a recognised striker against Lyon, preferring the £45m record signing, Gylfi Sigurdsson, and once again omitting Sandro Ramírez from his plans. He also deployed two right-backs at left-back, Jonjoe Kenny replacing the injured Cuco Martina, with Everton having failed to deliver on Koeman’s request for left-sided defensive cover in the summer.

Unsworth’s team selections may have spoken volumes about the club’s summer transfer strategy – Sandro, Sigurdsson and the £23.6m Davy Klaassen have all been marginalised – but he would prefer to keep his counsel over the players Koeman and Walsh have left him with.

“I don’t think it’s a flawed squad,” he said despite the problems facing a side languishing in the relegation zone. “There is a bit of a confidence issue but nothing that a couple of wins won’t put right. I know that through my own experience.

“I have my opinions on the squad and I’d rather keep them to myself because that is the right thing to do. It’s not my squad at the moment full-time. I know what I would want to do and how I would go about it, but we just have to get to that position as quickly as possible and pick teams and individuals to come together in a way of playing that I want to play.

“What I will say is that the players are giving everything. I can see that in training and I can see it in games. It’s just not falling for us at the moment. But I certainly know what I want to do and how I want us to play and who I want around.”

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