THE BEATLES once sang ‘You Can’t Buy Me Love’ and it looks like that might just be the case for Ronald Koeman on Merseyside.

The Dutchman splashed out an eye-watering amount on transfer fees this summer – somewhere close to £145m – but he isn’t feeling a lot of love from the Everton faithful.

Our win at Goodison Park on Sunday pushed Koeman closer to the exit door and I have to say I’ll be surprised if he survives the international break.

For all their outlay on new players, the Toffees looked woefully short of ideas, quality and any sort of cutting edge.

Yes, they had 30-odd chances but, just like their rivals from across Stanley Park, the number of chances on target could have been counted on one hand (and with fingers to spare!).

We had fewer chances but games aren’t won on chances as we well know.

The goal we did craft was a thing of absolute beauty.

Twenty four touches in the build-up and only Nick Pope and Ben Mee didn’t get in on the action before Jeff Hendrick sold Morgan Schneiderlin a dummy and slotted home.

The pundits were, quite rightly, purring.

The Everton fans, on the other hand, were not and you could feel the atmosphere drop instantly. They sensed it might be another one of those days.

Going forward we looked pretty good without the kind of cutting edge – the goal aside – that is needed at this level but the signs were promising enough.

At the back we were nothing short of magnificent.

James Tarkowski, who I think has had his doubters this season, was an absolute rock. He rightly picked up the man of the match award but was gracious enough to admit he couldn’t have done it alone.

Ben Mee, Matt Lowton and Stephen Ward played their part too and it was fantastic to see young Nick Pope look so confident coming for crosses and commanding his area. His work in training with the back four and unsung hero Billy Mercer is clearly paying off.

It’s a shame we have to wait a week until our next game – at home to West Ham – but the international break will give us a chance to recharge, continue working off the field and get ourselves ready for the next stage of the season.