In Brian Sørensen’s previous two seasons in charge of Everton, their first win came away against Liverpool, so as his team sit winless after seven games and prepare to host their Merseyside rivals at Goodison Park on Sunday, those derby victories are on his mind. “It’s just unlucky we have them in round eight instead of round one or two,” he says.
Luck has not been on Everton’s side this term. The 44-year-old Dane is determined to stay positive but naturally wishes he could pick his strongest side. Watching back September’s goalless friendly against Liverpool in preparation for Sunday, he feels a pang of sadness, seeing so many key players since ruled out by injury. The season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained by the Spain midfielder Inma Gabarro in a 1-0 loss to Manchester United, days after the same fate had befallen the Italy midfielder Aurora Galli, brought an ashen look of despair to Sørensen’s face at the time.
“I knew we could not replace her,” he says. “She was like our magician. I was super-sad. And I also think the girls knew it. That was our star and then in one moment she’s out.
“We have a very good core and I’m not so worried about the future because the core is so strong. The team responded very well. I’m super-proud of the performance against Arsenal [drawing 0-0 at the Emirates]. I don’t want to mention all the challenges. That’s just the way football works and we have the squad that we have available and we have to get the most out of it.”
Nonetheless, in the immediate aftermath of that draw at Arsenal came a scene that illustrated Everton’s off-field situation. While a sea of staff in Arsenal tracksuits spilled on to the pitch for full-time handshakes, scarcely half a dozen such Everton staff could be seen, including Sørensen’s assistant, Stephen Neligan. “Stephen was sitting up there as my assistant manager but also my analyst, and he was sitting next to four analysts from Arsenal, so it’s a big difference,” Sørensen says. “But we will recruit when we can. We had to let some staff who were out of contract go in the summer to put as much [resource] as we could on the pitch. When you’re in tough situations you have to make decisions like that. We’re working extremely hard.”
Everyone at Everton is waiting anxiously for a potential takeover by the Friedkin Group. Sørensen is not in a position to discuss that but, with an eye on the January transfer window, he is hoping for investment. “I’m positive,” he says. “We have the plans in place for the recruitment we want to do, but there’s not a takeover that’s finalised yet so we can’t act on it, but we’re ready if it comes, and if it doesn’t come, we have good people coming back in – Elise [Stenevik] and Karen [Holmgaard] – so that would be a big boost. I’m not worried.”
None of this has dampened Sørensen’s love for Everton. He grew up on a farm in Denmark and spent 15 years working in the construction industry while obtaining the Uefa Pro Licence, and his family feel increasingly at home on Merseyside, including his young daughter, who will be walking out with the players for Sunday’s derby.
“My kid absolutely loves her school and she has a scouse accent now so it’s perfect. She’s teaching me words that I didn’t know existed. I love it here. My wife has settled in really well. We bought a house here, we’re very settled in, we love the area. It is a special city.”
He is also passionate about the history of Goodison Park and keen to point out that – any cup fixtures aside – this is set to be the final women’s Merseyside derby at the venue that held – for nearly a century – the attendance record for any club women’s fixture, when the iconic Dick, Kerr Ladies beat St Helens on Boxing Day 1920 in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,000.
“The last league derby in this iconic stadium – to win that, that would top everything else,” Sørensen says. “The history makes it even more special. Thinking back to the Dick, Kerr Ladies over 100 years ago and how the females in this country had to battle for football. Listen, we’re actually here right now, we’re playing here, and that should excite people. It’s not going to come again so we need to make the most of it.”
His squad has been hit by a sickness bug this week, just as it was the week before last when the Scotland defender Lucy Hope missed their draw at Crystal Palace because of an illness, and he knows some fans are getting frustrated at a record of three points from seven games. “It’s fair, I can handle criticism, I’m a grown-up man and so on,” he says. “But the team are doing absolutely everything they can and they just need all the fans’ love and support and praise that they can get. As a group we are still in a good place, despite where we are. I think the turnaround is just around the corner.”
