Koeman out to catch Manchester United

Ronald Koeman wants Everton to keep on putting the pressure on Manchester United as they look to climb up the Premier League table.

Everton sit seventh ahead of this weekend's match against Bournemouth, trailing sixth-placed United by five points.

Jose Mourinho's side have failed to win any of their last three top-flight outings, and Koeman's priority is to catch them.

"The first goal for us is Manchester United," Koeman said at a news conference.

"They did not win at home against Hull on Wednesday, which means also for them it is difficult to win every game.

"It is possible, but it starts always by ourselves. We play Bournemouth and maybe they have been struggling a little bit in the last few weeks, but in the away game [a 1-0 win for Eddie Howe's side in September] they showed they were a really good team."

Everton parted ways with a number of fringe players in the January transfer window - including permanent exits for Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo, while Oumar Niasse and Gerard Deulofeu left on loan - and Koeman was pleased with his side's business.

"We had some players without any good future to get game time and they are now away from the club because they like to play more and have more game time and that is good," he added.

"We have a small squad but enough numbers to compete and to have competition and a little different spirit now because all of them have opportunities."