Everton have made a horrendous start to the new Premier League season, losing all four of their games already.
In their last two games, against AFC Bournemouth and Aston Villa, the Toffees lost by 3-2, and in both games, they dropped a two-goal advantage.
The pressure is gradually mounting on Sean Dyche, and there are speculations over his job at Goodison Park. However, according to a report from BBC Sport, Everton have no plans to sack their manager, and they have full faith in him.
However, if the results start to deteriorate, the Everton board might not be able to keep their patience for long. BBC Radio pundit Nigel Reo-Coker has suggested that David Moyes could be the right man for the job, and he’s available.
Everton will have to switch their attention towards the Carabao Cup in midweek as they face Southampton at Goodison Park.
With Jarrad Branthwaite still not fully fit, Dyche has options limited at the back. But, the Everton boss must ditch plans to start with Michael Keane again for the next few games at least.
Keane has started in all four games for the Toffees. He has been absolutely awful at the back, as Everton conceded 13 goals.
The 31-year-old defender might be one of the most experienced players around, and he is someone Dyche knows very well from his time at Burnley, but the truth remains that he has been badly struggling to cope with the pace of the league.
Against Aston Villa, he should have done a lot better in clearing the danger from Lucas Digne’s cross. Ollie Watkins easily beats Keane in the air and directed his header towards the goal.
Everton signed Jake O’Brien in the summer transfer window, but he has managed only 26 minutes of Premier League football. It is high time, Dyche starts to integrate the 23-year-old centre-back into the first-team regularly.
O’Brien is expected to start against Southampton, and he must start against Leicester as well unless Branthwaite returns to the first team. Dyche cannot continue the same experiment and expect a different result. Put simply, Keane should be dropped.
