Whelan has say on what’s changed at Everton recently
It turns out that sacking former Everton manager Marco Silva was a good decision after all… who could have predicted that?
It’s safe to say that the Toffees could probably have done with giving the Portuguese boss the boot a bit earlier than they did.
However, that’s not to diminish the job that Carlo Ancelotti has done since he came to Goodison Park.
The Italian have overseen a handsome improvement in the performances of the players, and former Premier League striker Noel Whelan believes he has fostered a winning mentality previously missing on the blue half of Merseyside.
“There is massive belief and character in the changing room at Everton,” he told Football Insider.
“It is not easy at any level to play with 10-men or come back from 2-0. It shows the fighting spirit and they are going to need that.
“Ancelotti is a strong man with a strong character and he will install that into his team. Usually, your team plays the way the manager is. They have got that fighting spirit and never say die attitude.
“You can see the influence the manager is having on the players already. They are fighting for him and for their futures between now and the end of the season. There is a lot riding on it for the players.”
Are the Everton players fighting for their futures?
They could well be, yes. With any new manager there’s an assessment period where he takes a look at his squad and decides who he wants to keep and who he wants to get rid of.
With someone like Ancelotti, it puts that bit more pressure on the players because he is so used to working with top class talent.
They’ll know that they can’t afford to disappoint otherwise they’ll be given the boot come the summer. That’s something that leads to never-say-die performances like Saturday’s against Watford.
In other Everton news, former England international Darren Bent has backed a star Toffee for a Euro 2020 place.