Leeds United caretaker manager Michael Skubala admitted that Everton posed a different type of challenge for his side after their encouraging performances against Manchester United but insists his team can still survive after dropping into the Premier League relegation zone.
The win saw the Blues leapfrog their visitors in the table and Skubala said: “It’s a tough place to come. We knew it was going to be a tough game.
“I thought without the ball we were strong and stood up. I think we needed to be better with the ball, that’s the thing we need to work on quite a bit if we’re to start creating more chances.
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“For me it was a completely different game (to Manchester United). Everton are physical, strong, they run, they hit switches and dials so the style of play was different and you have to adapt to that quickly.”
The former England futsal coach denied that his side were second best in key areas though. He said: “I don’t think that. I think we dealt with second balls for long periods of the game.
“We know the type of game that they play and they’re good at it, that’s the way they play.
“I thought we battled quite well, I just think we didn’t create enough with the ball.”
Everton’s winning goal came from Seamus Coleman’s strike from a tight angle but Skubala defended his goalkeeper Meslier for the mistake. He said: “We’ve been caught and Illan has been caught off his line but he’s been a huge player for us this season and he’s saved us lots of points but maybe with his positioning, I need to look back at it. He’s a top player but sometimes in these games, these things sometimes get you the wins.”
The 40-year-old maintains the magnitude of this fixture was not lost on him as Leeds United now prepare to host the only side in the division now below them, bottom club Southampton, who pulled off a shock 1-0 win at Chelsea. Skubala said: “It’s a big coaching week and it’s my job again to get them prepared for Southampton as much as we can. I’m talking to the board daily and at the minute I’m planning for next week against Southampton.
“We knew how big this game was, when you’re fighting, every game is about three points. When you lose a game it’s important to pick them up, focus, and go again and that’s what we’ll do.
“I think this was an important match for both clubs, every game. Now we move into the next game which is another important game.
“This game was important. The Premier League is a tough league and every game is going to be tough but we just need to keep pushing and trying to get more points so every game is important.
“I’m happy to shoulder the job, to do the best job I can. We need to be better, we need to prepare and be better with the ball but I’m happy.”
Asked if he believed Leeds United could still stay up, Skubala said: “For sure. They’re good players, I think they’re good players.
“We have good players at the club. We have good midfielders, good defenders, good strikers.
“We’ve just got to get it right, keep pushing and keep moving forward and I have full confidence we can get out of it.”
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