Kevin Mirallas takes aim
Former Everton winger Kevin Mirallas has criticised Sam Allardyce over his spell at the Toffees, suggesting the players did not enjoy their time under him.
The Toffees are not enjoying a great start to the season.
After a poor start to the campaign, Marco Silva’s Everton are sat 18th in the Premier League.
With that, any hopes of a top-six finish are practically extinguished.
Should Everton fail to at least challenge for a top-six spot, it would be three managers who have so far failed to deliver that despite huge investment from Farhad Moshiri.
Ronald Koeman was brought in when Moshiri’s tenure began, before being sacked and replaced by Sam Allardyce.
Both failed to capture the imaginations of Everton fans, especially the latter, before being sacked.
Now, former Everton man Kevin Mirallas has gone further in-depth about just how bad it was under Allardyce, despite him guiding the Toffees to an eighth-place finish.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: Sparsely populated crowds during the UEFA Europa League group E match between Everton FC and Atalanta at Goodison Park on November 23, 2017 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
‘I don’t know if he even knew football because he only spent five minutes on the pitch in training’
Speaking to the Athletic, as cited by the Mail, Mirallas explained that despite winning games, the players didn’t enjoy playing under Allardyce.
Not only that, Mirallas questioned if Allardyce even knew football, after spending minimal time in training.
‘Martinez and Koeman wanted to play football but after, there was Allardyce,’ Mirallas explained.
‘I don’t know if he even knew football because he only spent five minutes on the pitch in training. Nobody knows this, but it’s true.
‘That’s difficult. You have to pick players at the weekend but you don’t watch training.
‘I only stayed for one month while he was there but I spoke to some players and they told me it was very difficult.
‘It’s true he won a lot of games, but they didn’t enjoy it.’
After being reached out to, Allardyce claimed to the Athletic that training sessions were shared out among all the coaches.
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