Everton publicly back Koeman, but quietly line up Italian replacement

Everton are set to approach Walter Mazzarri this week with Ronald Koeman’s position at Goodison Park looking precarious.

Koeman, who watched his side lose 1-0 at home to Burnley on Sunday, is as short as 1/3 to be the next Premier League boss to leave with some layers.

William Hill have cut the odds on Koeman being the next manager to leave from 4/6 on Sunday to 4/7 having been as long as 11/4 at the start of the weekend. They also quote him as 4/1 to have left his position by the end of international break.

Hills claim David Unsworth has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Koeman should he leave having been backed in from 11/1 to 4/1 with Carlo Ancelotti 7/1.

But reports in Italy suggest former Watford boss Mazzarri could be heading back into the Premier League.

The Italian boss, 56, was sacked by Watford at the end of last season and Everton are now interested in his services after Everton’s seven points from seven games in the Premier League.

Reports claim Farhad Moshiri will go for Mazzarri if he decides to axe Koeman. Publicly though he has given his backing to Koeman and told talkSPORT: “We’re in a bad moment – but we have played three of the four title contenders away.

“[Burnley] was the only unexpected loss. The four pre-qualifying UEFA games and two group games on Thursdays haven’t helped. There is mental fatigue and seven injuries.

“These are early days and Koeman has my total support. We have great fans they deserve better. We know the honest and objective expectations of our supporters and will not let them down.”

Koeman lost Romelu Lukaku in the summer, but he spent around £140million on new recruits, who have yet to gel at Goodison.

Asked whether he was the right man for Everton after the defeat to Burnley, he said: “I don’t answer this type of question. That is not the business at this moment.

“I have experience and if you win your life and your day is different. If you lose of course it is not nice if you have two weeks in an international break and get a defeat, but that is life and you have to accept it.

“But I don’t accept to sit back and wait. We will continue and I will try to do the best for my job. All the stuff and questions are not in my hand but I try to get the best out of the players.

“If there is no commitment and no aggression that is maybe a reason to think about my future but I thank the players for their commitment.

“I can’t complain about my players, they did everything. Maybe we could create more but it is not so easy against Burnley.”