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Ronald Koeman insists there is room for Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen in the same Everton side.
But the Blues boss admits that until confidence is fully restored he has to consider different options.
Everton have won their last two matches after suffering four straight defeats in which they failed to score.
Tomorrow night, Koeman’s side welcome Apollon Limassol to Goodison for their second Europa League Group G fixture looking for a “revenge feeling” after being humiliated by Atalanta on matchday one.
Koeman substituted Rooney and Klaassen last weekend as they trailed to Bournemouth, bringing on Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies in their place, and changing their formation.
The switch worked as Niasse scored twice in five minutes to seal a dramatic first league win since the opening day.
And Koeman admits that even though he has belief that Sigurdsson, Rooney and Klaassen can all play in the same side, being more direct is sometimes the way to go.
“It’s something we are looking to,” he said.
“If the team is really in a good shape, the team is really confident in the football we like to play and we have enough support from other players we can play like this but sometimes if they drop too much back then we need more pace.
“That was the reason why I brought Oumar in against Bournemouth.
“At that moment in the game we missed some pace in front.
“I still believe in the quality of these players. Good players can play in one team, good players like Sigurdsson, Klaassen and Rooney can play out of that position but they need more understanding and also support from other players.
“If you play too much of the long ball than maybe through the midfield then maybe you need to choose for other type of strikers.”
Niasse’s introduction saw Everton play with two up front and allowed them to play a more direct style.
Koeman knows the use of playing long balls - and that it can be popular with Blues fans - but is adamant Everton must be able to strike a balance.
“It’s all about how the team is,” he said.
“Maybe in a difficult match, maybe if the team is not full of confidence in their football then it is an easier option to play with two in front I think so.”
He added: “You can play with long balls.
“Our fans they like if you sometimes play the long ball, if you play direct football and that’s the easiest way to play. “You need to find a balance in both ways to play football.
“Sometimes the long ball is a difficult way to defend for your opponent.
“We don’t have a target man in our front.
“We have Dominic, we have Sandro, we have Niasse.
“They are most of the time running strikers. They make movements, they make runs. Lukaku was different, he was also a target man. That is sometimes different in the way you can play. It’s also about your own confidence. We struggled in our ball possession, we make mistakes and that’s not good for our confidence.”
Sauce:
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