View: Everton could be sent down by man they once loved as Slaven Bilic wants Burnley job
There was a major Premier League plot twist in the relegation battle on Good Friday, with Everton rivals Burnley sacking Sean Dyche with eight games to go.
The Premier League’s longest serving manager is no more after ten years, handing the Toffees a huge advantage as they currently sit four points above the final drop zone spot, currently occupied by Burnley.
But reports from talkSPORT that Slaven Bilic, a former Toffees player, is interested in the role of manager at Turf Moor could see a dream scenario quickly descend into a nightmare if he has his way.
The Croatian spent two years at Goodison Park between 1997 and 1999 as a player and was a popular figure before leaving the club to join his hometown club Hadjuk Split and retire.
But now 23 years on from leaving, he could come back to haunt the club that once sang his name by guiding Burnley to safety at their expense.
His last spell in the Premier League ended rather unceremoniously, getting sacked by West Brom despite having the club in a relatively good position. They ended up getting relegated despite bringing in Sam Allardyce.
His playing style suits the top flight of English football. He likes to be compact defensively and doesn’t mind direct football, but also finds a way to get his team to score goals – something Dyche has struggled with this season.
If he were to arrive at the club and find his groove quickly, it would be Everton that suffer because their run-in is so horrible they’re unlikely to get a lot of points between now and the end of the season.
Ultimately the Blues have been relying on teams being worse than them for their survival hopes, because they haven’t been good enough to get points themselves.
The win over Manchester United will mean little if they go and lose the next game while Burnley find another victory, just as their win against us meant little when they went on to lose to Norwich.
Burnley have played their hand and made their move, just like all the teams around them beforehand.
It’s now on Everton to ensure that it doesn’t matter because they’re saving themselves, rather than banking on them getting the new appointment wrong.
In other Everton news, Everton want to sign 47-cap international, ‘watched closely’ over last 12 months – report
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