Friday 13 October 2017 14:43, UK
Ronald Koeman says he does not feel under personal pressure to guide Everton to a win at Brighton on Sunday.
Everton head to the south coast having lost their most recent Premier League game 1-0 to Burnley at Goodison Park in what was their final outing before the break for international football.
That loss was their fourth defeat in seven league matches this season, a run of form which has left Koeman's men 16th in the table after a summer in which the squad underwent an expensive overhaul.
Although the recruitment was financed by the £75m sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, it did generate an expectation that Everton would be challenging at the other end of the table.
But Koeman does not feel under any particular pressure to improve the team's fortunes.
"Not for me," he said. "I think the pressure is always there in football, because you like to win and you put yourself under pressure to win the game.
"Everything which is mentioned from outside is out of hands; I can't stop it and I can't do anything about that.
"Every Premier League game is a tough one regardless of the name of the opponent."
Everton have leaked 12 goals in their seven games to date but Koeman feels that statistic gives a false impression of his team's defensive capabilities because they have already played both Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham.
"I think it's more a question to be answered halfway through the season because we've played four title contenders," he said.
"It's difficult because everyone expected difficult results but I did not see my players between after the game against Burnley and either yesterday or today (Friday).
"You need a little bit of luck; you need to score the first goal in a game and we need to change that.
"The fastest way to change that is by being a professional and working hard."
