Ronald Koeman bidding to build up Everton fitness from last season
Friday 14 October 2016 12:59, UK
Ronald Koeman has revealed his biggest challenge since arriving at Everton has been improving player fitness levels.
Koeman has made a positive start since replacing Roberto Martinez in the summer, winning four of seven Premier League matches.
Ahead of this weekend's trip to leaders Manchester City, he told Sky Sports about how he has tried to make his mark on the club in the first few months of his tenure.
"I don't like to talk about the past for Everton, only what we saw at the beginning when we did physical tests and that was a difference than the level that we had at Southampton," he said.
"If you like to play how we like to play, which is not defending and defending, a big part of our game plan is to try to press your opponent.
"That means you need to run a lot and physically you need to be stronger, that was a bit of a difficulty in the beginning.
"We want to do more but we want to keep everybody fit, that's the most important thing. But the players are working hard."
Koeman made several new signings in the summer, most notably bringing in Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace and Ashley Williams from Swansea.
Asked what else he needs in the squad, Koeman said: "It's not so clever to talk now about what we are missing, the team is good but the team can be stronger."
This weekend sees Koeman go head-to-head with former team-mate and friend Pep Guardiola.
The pair played together at Barcelona and Koeman has been impressed by what the Manchester City boss has achieved in his career.
"He plays attractive football, offensive football…and he is winning titles," said the Dutchman. "You have managers who won titles with defensive football and he is winning them with football that is nice to watch.
"That's, in my opinion, the difference between him and the rest of the managers."
