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BBC Sport journalist Phil McNulty has stated that he believes some of Marco Silva’s current struggles at Everton to be due to some of the players he inherited at Goodison Park.

What he said

McNulty shows some sympathy with the Portuguese coach, whose side have slumped to 9th in the Premier League table having gone on a run that has seen them lose four of their last five matches in all competition.

However, McNulty comes to the manager’s defence, stating that he is being hampered by the likes of “Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun, two expensive, highly-paid flops Silva has been saddled with.”

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He continues to suggest that the club’s previous poor transfer dealings are partly responsible for the Merseyside outfit’s current predicament, “yes, Silva has struggled to get performances and results but it would be wrong for him to assume total blame for the mistakes of others.”

Demanding more

Whilst it cannot be denied that Walcott and Tosun have failed to shine since their arrival at Goodison, they are not hapless. At 29-years-old, Walcott should still have plenty more in the tank. The 47-cap England international scored over 100 goals for Arsenal in his time at the Emirates Stadium, proving he has the capacity to deliver.

Tosun, too, has plenty of the attributes required to be successful in the Premier League. Neither him nor Walcott can be considered world class, but both should be performing better. It is Silva’s responsibility to coax the best out of his players, whether they were his own signings or not.

Silva must demand more from the likes of Walcott and Tosun, and the longer their toils continue, the more should be demanded from Silva himself.