David Unsworth insists his authority has not been undermined by Everton's prolonged search to find a new permanent manager.
It is 26 days since Ronald Koeman was sacked and Everton's attempts to find his successor have reached varying dead ends.
Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone has no interest, Sam Allardyce has seemingly ruled himself out while Watford have rejected an offer for Marco Silva.
Unsworth has made no secret of his desire to become the next man in the role and has spoken on a daily basis with Chairman Bill Kenwright, as well as having 'three or four' conversations with major shareholder Farhad Moshiri.