Everton legend Peter Reid urges Ronald Koeman to concentrate on defending.
Peter Reid has urged Ronald Koeman to focus on defense, ahead of Everton’s Premier League clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
The Everton legend has said that the under-fire manager needs to get back to coaching basics, and take note of some of the past and present managers who were good at setting up teams with a solid defensive foundation.
Everton have made a poor start to their 2017/18 campaign, and have won just once in their last eight Premier League games.
Reid has questioned Everton’s tactical shape, and that Koeman doesn’t know what his best team is. The former Everton midfielder finds no cohesion among the players, and that the confidence in the team is low because of the poor results.
He has advised Koeman to concentrate on defending properly and to try to get a few clean sheets.
Everton have added Michael Keane to bolster the defence this summer, but their defence have looked vulnerable, with the Toffees conceding 13 goals already in the Premier League.
Reid added that the Everton players will have to be good without the ball. He also believes that Koeman can survive if everyone pulls together.
“If I’m being honest I don’t think the manager knows what system, shape or team to play,” said Reid, as quoted by the Sunday People (printed edition; October 22 – page 50).
“When things got difficult I’d go back to the basics, concentrate on defending properly to make the team hard to beat, try to get a few clean sheets.
“Clean sheets add confidence and in any sport that’s a massive thing – show me a confident team and I’ll show you a winning team.
“But confidence drains out of you if you keep getting beat so by hook or by crook you’ve got to dig results out. It’s not necessarily negative, you just work hard when the other team have the ball.”
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