Ronald Koeman has admitted that Everton’s players are ‘too weak’ to cope with the demands of the Premier League.
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by Watford saw the Blues’ slump in form extend to a solitary win in their previous 11 games in all competitions under the Dutchman.
Koeman’s formative months at Goodison Park are now set to face their sternest test with the visits of Arsenal and Liverpool happening in the next nine days.
And the Everton manager has acknowledged that his current squad is deficient in several key areas, including physicality and combating direct opponents.
He said: “These are not the results we like to have but we have to accept it and we know the Premier League is difficult.
“The Premier League is not always about football qualities, it is about physically, second balls, and in that aspect the team is too weak at the moment and we have many difficulties against teams like this who play really direct and are aggressive.
“We have different players and they have different qualities and in that aspect we need to improve and need to do better because that is what you need in the Premier League.
“That is the big concern, you can’t change that in two weeks, you need time for that, you need January.
“You need the next summer and that is my job, to improve the team and to change what we need in the team and we need better balance in the team.
“We need more physicality in our team. That’s the Premier League. Or you have world-class players and that’s the difference.”