Silva makes curious comments defending his misfiring Everton side

Everton once again bottled it at the time of asking with the spotlight on them. Marco Silva talked a big game leading up to the clash against Tottenham Hotspur, indicating how happy he was to finally take on a top six side at Goodison Park. He’ll be wanting to take those words back.

Spurs completely dismantled the Blues 6-2 in the only game of the day, and the beating was indeed comprehensive as they could easily have had another few while the hosts defending could be described at best as utterly shambolic.

After the game, Silva was at a loss to describe what happened.

“Really bad afternoon for us, really bad result for us, for our fans.

“We have to realise why and we will realise for sure. We started well the match, it started really balanced. We know how they are strong in counter-attack and it started like we planned it and we scored early.”

If Silva would have taken his blue-tinted lenses off he would have realized that even when the Blues scored through Theo Walcott, it was against the run of play and the hosts hadn’t really imposed themselves. Spurs were moving the ball around well and their goals were just around the corner.

“After we made the first mistake during the match when they equalised and the game changed completely.

“We lost many things in our behaviour and our organisation and in this level we cannot do that.

“At half-time we changed something in our tactical behaviour. I told them we cannot concede any more because we will score again and first two minutes of second half we conceded again.

“Everything they went forward it was easy for them. Our organisation in our defensive moment, we don’t put enough aggressiveness in the match.”

Jordan Pickford’s temperament has looked increasingly fragile in recent weeks since the Derby, and made another egregious error leading to a goal. His tally of three mistakes ending up in goals leads the Premier League, but Silva tried to defend him.

“It is our job, not just with Jordan, but with all of them.

”Our job is to give them conditions so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again. It has happened more with our team in the last games. We have to work hard to improve these kinds of things.”

When asked if the players showed no character in today’s loss, Silva declined to comment on what he said to them.

“I understand your question and like you know, everything I can say for my players I will say there inside our dressing room.

“We have to be more smart and I don’t have problems and I have told them we have to be more aggressive if you want to do the right things, to compete in a high level, which we did many times this season. In some moments the game in the second half, we didn’t see that.

”We play quick next match. We have to keep together.”

As many supporters have noted, this is about the same time Silva’s campaign with Watford FC last season seemed to careen off the tracks. This holiday period will be a true test of Silva’s and Everton’s credentials as the best team outside the top six, because the Blues are certainly not near the top six right now.

Clearly.