When the manager is saying: “It is not the moment for anyone to hide. I said it inside the dressing room, too there is nowhere we can hide,” you know there are problems afoot.
Tensions are mounting around Everton, and a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United on the weekend has only worsened the situation that has seen supporters question Marco Silva, who has been seen as the scapegoat in this time of crisis.
Yet the manager is simply not holding his hands up and admitting it’s his fault. In an interview with The Telegraph, the former Watford boss criticised his players for ‘hiding’ during their shock defeat to the Blades, and this call of action and improvement for his players is something the Everton squad must be listening too.
Indeed, there are some legitimate reasons to blame this poor run of form on Silva, namely his starting XI choices, yet the players themselves also have to look at themselves and put blame on themselves as to why the club have been underperforming in recent weeks.
The likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Morgan Schneiderlin have been regular targets from supporters on social media for their poor performances this season, and injuries to the like of summer signing Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Andre Gomes have not added to the problems inflicting the club.
A self-reflection is what the majority of the players in the squad need in preparing for their next league game against Manchester City, and many names in the side should heed Silva’s critique on how they hide in matches.
A once easy start to the season has morphed and disfigured into a horror show for Everton, and although Silva does deserve his critics, the players should also share a chunk of the blame for this poor opening to what was once seen as a promising season for the Toffees.