Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman has claimed that the jury remains out on Toffees manager Marco Silva.
The Portuguese arrived at Goodison Park this summer after losing his job at Watford midway through last season, and Osman is still unconvinced on the merits of the new man.
“I think the jury’s still out, if I’m completely honest,” he told talkSPORT. “The attacking football we are seeing now is much, much better, and everyone is pleased with that.
“But we are still conceding sloppy goals, we are not convincing away from home, we’re conceding from set-pieces… so there are a lot of people still undecided. But he’s only a short time into his reign and things don’t happen overnight.”
OPINION
It’s clear that Osman wants to remain cautious in his judgement of Silva as it is, as he says, still early in his tenure at the club. There’s definitely room for improvement for the Toffees, as they have shown some of the same deficiencies that they exhibited under Roberto Martinez a few years ago. They are exciting to watch going forward but sometimes leave too many holes defensively. The fans were decidedly unhappy with the style of football under Sam Allardyce last season, so they’re obviously happier with Silva, but results are yet to markedly improve under the former Hull manager. It’s appropriate, at the moment, to be undecided about the Everton boss – but he must be given time to put his stamp on the team, as the style of football is clearly a sea change from what the players were used to under Allardyce last term. As Osman says, these things don’t happen overnight, and the Everton supporters must remain patient with the man in charge.