Everton have not yet decided who will be Ronald Koeman’s permanent successor, but as it stands, David Unsworth is in charge.

The 44-year-old was promoted from his role as Under-23s coach to oversee the first team on a temporary basis following Koeman’s dismissal last Monday.

The former defender has had two games in charge, both of which have ended in disappointment - a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Leicester City.

After the cup match, fans were pleased with the performance from the players, but doubt could creep in if the losses continue.

Phil Neville, who played for Everton for eight years, was thought to have thrown his hat into the ring, but now the ex-Manchester United player has endorsed Unsworth.

The now-TV pundit told BBC Sport:

“I would love to see David Unsworth get the Everton job on a permanent basis and it riles me when I see him described as not having enough experience. Unsworth has done the hard yards as a coach and has done a fantastic job with the Everton Under-23 side, where he has done everything that was asked of him.

“He won the Premier League 2 title with them last season and has also produced a lot of the young players that are now playing for the Everton first team. The next step now is for him to go and do that at first-team level in the Premier League and hopefully that is at Everton, because it seems the perfect match.”

Unsworth is very familiar with Everton given that he came through the academy and started his career at the Merseyside club.

After five years in the senior team, the ex-defender moved on but later returned 1998 for a six-year spell.

Unsworth was taken on as U23s boss in 2014.

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