Joe Royle has revealed the key qualities that “intelligent” David Unsworth and “deep-thinking” John Ebbrell bring to Everton.
Former Blues players Unsworth and Ebbrell have taken charge of the Toffees' past four matches, with boss Unsworth receiving glowing praise from Leighton Baines for the inspiring team talk he delivered prior to Sunday’s victory over Watford.
Royle managed the duo during a stirring mid-1990s period at Goodison Park and has been on hand to lend an ear to Unsworth and his assistant Ebbrell across the past three, hectic weeks.
The 68-year-old, a title winner as a player with Everton in 1970, 25 years before he led the Club to FA Cup glory, identified leadership traits in a young Unsworth – and was not surprised to learn of his former charge’s rousing dressing-room rhetoric last weekend.