Abdoulaye Doucoure concedes good performances mean nothing without results
- Planet Sport writer
- 27 August 2023
Abdoulaye Doucoure admitted that Everton need to convert their good performances into results if they are to make an impact on the Premier League this season.
Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure accepts only goals can validate any progress the team are making on the pitch after their worst start to a league season.
It is the first time in the club's history they have opened a campaign with three defeats and no goals and, while there were encouraging glimpses in the 1-0 loss at home to Wolves, pressure is already building.
Sean Dyche's side have had 43 shots at goal and 18 on target - eight of which were considered by the statistics to be "big chances".
The trend has continued for last season's Premier League low scorers (34 in 38 games), so even the promise of positive inputs from defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Dobbin, aged 21 and 20 respectively, having been given a chance is somewhat lost in the aftermath of a fifth home defeat in six matches.
Combined with their run from the previous campaign to this, Everton have just two wins in 14 games.
"The performance was OK, we can take that as a positive, but we need to win games to validate those performances," Doucoure told evertontv.
"The result is difficult to take obviously. We were the better team, we created more chances than them but in the Premier League, we need to score goals to win games and at the moment we aren't which is a problem.
"We need to be more clinical and believe more that we can score goals that win games. At the moment it is difficult to take.
"We need to stand together. The team have the right mentality, but the Premier League is ruthless and we need to be more clinical in both boxes and win games."
Dyche has got tired of repeating himself when asked about the team's fortunes up front, exacerbated by the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin about whom they hope to receive positive news about his cheekbone injury.
They also appear to be closing in on the signing of long-term target the Udinese striker Beto.
On Thursday the Everton boss dismissed talks of a crisis after two opening defeats but another loss has intensified the scrutiny as the club head into the final week of the transfer window with plenty to rectify.
"We created enough to win the game, but we didn't win the game so it is total responsibility on myself, the staff and the players to correct that because performance levels other than last week have been good," said the manager.
