Everton play Huddersfield on Saturday with a new manager in Sam Allardyce in charge, and following their 4-nil trouncing of West Ham, the reign of the English boss is expected to usher in renewed hope and a change in fortunes in what has been a dismal campaign.
Big Sam was officially unveiled as the Toffees boss on Thursday, and the former Crystal Palace manager, who’s set to earn 100,000 per week in a deal that ends in June 2019, revealed in his first ever interview what motivated him to come back into management.
In the exact words of the 63-year-old: “The attraction of the club itself, the people I’ve known at the club – Peter Reid is one of my best mates, so are Andy Gray and Paul Bracewell whom I worked with at Sunderland – these people have always made me aware of just how special and unique a club Everton is and I feel really enthused and energised to come in as manager.
“I’ve always thought Everton was a great club. It is a great club. Obviously, the club has gone through a difficult spell and hopefully I can put that behind us as quickly as possible and start looking upwards again.
“Because, ultimately, it’s the ambition of the club, the ambition of the owner and the board, allied to the fact that it’s Everton and all the fantastic history, which have proved to be key for me.
“Ambition is important for any manager or coach, owner or director. It’s what you need to have and hopefully we can deliver to the fans to get this club high up the league. That’s what we’re aiming for.
“And we’ve got to try to keep our heads up and push ourselves until we make sure we get that better.
“The fans are the most important people at any football club, of course, and we have to give the players every possibility to play to their best, really give them no excuses for not playing to their best and get them right back up to the top level we believe they’re capable of.
“Last season showed what the club is trying to build and we need to demonstrate that level of ambition and assuredness again.
“We can. It’s a question now of putting in the work to do that and I’m really enthused by the prospect.”
The former West Ham and Sunderland boss is renowned for being a survival expert, and while escaping the drop has since become Everton’s sudden target for the season, returning to the Europa League spots remains the ultimate ambition.
While a top 6 finish – the initial mission heading into 2017-18 – is no longer feasible, it will be hoped the club finish strongly this term in order to aim higher 2018-19.
If Big Sam remains the perfect candidate for Everton’s ambitions remains to be seen, but at least, Premier League safety can now be assured.
