Southall played alongside Unsworth for Everton.
Neville Southall has played down Joey Barton’s criticism of Everton caretaker manager David Unsworth.
The comments provoked a strong reaction from many Evertonians, who deemed Barton – a supporter of the Toffees himself growing up – to be out of order.
But despite being a teammate of Unsworth during his Everton career, Southall refused to be angered by the former Burnley midfielder – and told one Twitter user that Unsworth will not ‘give a ***’ about what Barton has to say.
Instead, Southall posted: “Joey Barton is least problem Everton has[.] He’s like a puppy who wants his tummy rubbed[.] Just wants bit of affection”, prompting a lengthy exchange between the pair.
Unsworth has lost both of his games in temporary charge of Everton following Ronald Koeman’s sacking, and has slipped down the list of bookies favourites, which is now being led by Sam Allardyce.
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