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Everton manager Ronald Koeman enjoyed some fruitful shopping in the January sales but reckons he needs just one more transfer window to fashion a squad strong enough to compete with the Premier League’s powerhouses.

The Blues splashed out on Manchester United’s Morgan Schneiderlin and wonder kid Ademola Lookman from Charlton Athletic in January and so far it’s proven to be money well spent with the two new boys unbeaten since their arrival.

Last summer Koeman snapped up Yannick Bolasie, Ashley Williams, Idrissa Gueye and Maarten Stekelenburg but there were also several other high profile rumoured targets that did not arrive.

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The Dutchman reckons that given the chance to draft in some more fresh faces before the start of the next campaign, his team will be ready to go toe-to-toe with the best in the division.

He said: “Not everything has been done. That’s impossible in football. I’ve spoken already that we’ve had 12 or 13 new players in and that’s a big change for the team and for the club.

“We know we need one more transfer window to get that strong team that we’d like to have.

“If we get that for next season then we will really battle with the big ones in the Premier League, I’m really confident of that.”

(Image: PA Wire)

Everton’s players have had to adapt to Koeman’s methods this season and in many ways the former Southampton boss appears to be a harder task master than his predecessor Roberto Martinez.

He said: “In this situation at Everton I’m a new manager and everyone needs time to adapt, understand and to know the characters of the players.

“If you compare the squad this season to last season we have 12 or 13 new faces in.

“You need time to see how the new manager likes to play and you need to get good fitness, I think it’s really important.

“Sometimes you need to keep your distance. I like to be one of them but they are much younger than I am and I am much more old-fashioned than the football players of this time.

“You like to show that you are part of them and it is the manager’s responsibility if the team is not winning. You like to do it together and that feeling, that spirit, that ambition, you like to feel it with your players.”

A big part of Koeman’s determination comes from his hatred of losing honed from his own playing days.

He said: “I still have it. It’s the worst day if you lose the game. Okay that’s a mentality you need to make yourself. In my situation it’s really natural and that mentality I like to bring out to my players.

“You can’t be happy if you lose the game. Maybe you didn’t do your best or it was not good organisation in the game. I really hate to lose.

“The best feeling in football is winning the game because it’s such a nice life but you have to deal with disappointments as well.”

Koeman added: “You don’t show too much about yourself because that’s the past. Of course I had a big career as a player and won a lot of trophies but with those trophies you don’t win trophies now.

“I’m the manager of Everton. We like to develop our players, have a strong team and win titles. That’s the target that I had when I came to Everton and what I still have.”

Unbeaten in their last nine Premier League matches, the Blues are currently seventh in the table with a dozen games to go.

While his side have closed the gap on Manchester United to four points (albeit with Jose Mourinho’s side having a game in hand), neighbours Liverpool to five points and fourth-placed Arsenal to six points, Koeman remains cautious about climbing further up the table in the current campaign.

He said: “No it’s really difficult but we know everything is possible in football.

“We’ve had good games against the top teams and we were unlucky to suffer our only defeat at home in the league this season to Liverpool.

“We had a great win against Manchester City and a draw in the first game of the season against Tottenham and won at home against Arsenal. There was a really poor game at Chelsea but a draw at home to Manchester United.

“We’ve had good results against really strong teams and that gives everyone the confidence that we can get a good result this Sunday.”