Idrissa Gueye believes Everton were “too nice” in the Merseyside derby and revealed: “I’m still playing the defeat in my head.”
The Blues fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Monday, providing a performance that frustrated supporters due to its lack of passion and intensity. Gueye feels he and his teammates should have pushed “harder” but instead allowed the hosts to dictate the game.
He added manager Sean Dyche told his players this at half-time and was clearly disappointed with the manner of the defeat. The midfielder’s comments came as he also praised the new Everton boss and revealed he had not anticipated Everton struggling so severely this season.
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Gueye returned to Everton from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer and has been ever-present in the heart of the midfield under both former manager Frank Lampard and now Dyche.
Reflecting on the derby defeat, he said he had been disappointed with how the match unfolded and explained Dyche’s thoughts during the break: “He told us this after the first half. So for sure, he is frustrated. He wanted us to win this game, for him, the players and the fans.” Everton were trailing to Mo Salah’s goal at the interval but were unable to fight back despite Dyche’s team talk, conceding a second to Cody Gakpo just after the break. Gueye stressed it is important that defeat is now left in the past and focus turns to Leeds on Saturday, then the fixtures beyond.
The midfielder has welcomed the arrival of Dyche, praising his focus on the basics in training. He told the club website: “Every manager has their own way to work. We are happy to have him as a manager. He is a nice manager, he is close to the players. He tries to give us more energy. More of everything we need to get out of the bottom of the league.”
Gueye’s approval stretched to the bleep tests Dyche’s coaching team put the squad through on their first day at Finch Farm: “That’s what we need. I think he understands it and that’s why he made these tests. To show us how we are physically and how he wants us to work. Everyone took it well and we are happy.” Everton’s tie with Leeds is set to be the club’s biggest of the season so far as both sides seek to gain momentum in their fight for survival. Everton will remain in the bottom three unless they win. If they take the three points they will send Leeds into the drop zone.
In a separate interview with talkSPORT, Gueye said he had been surprised by Everton’s poor season so far: “It has been a very difficult season for us. We didn’t expect that at the beginning of the season with the lads we had, with the team we had, with the manager we had. We will try to do our best to get more points to get out of this position.”
This struggle is the big difference with his first stint at Goodison Park, he added, but insisted on his determination to pull the club forward: “When I was there before we were playing in the top of the table, now we are fighting to get out of the relegation zone. That is the big difference but the people are amazing here and it is such a good club and a big club and we have to bring it back to the top of the table.”
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