Everton’s defeat to Manchester City on Sunday means there are now three teams in the Premier League unable to overhaul Cherries’ current points tally of 39. Leeds United can now only finish on 37, Everton’s potential maximum 38, whilst New Forest neighbours Southampton have already been relegated.
Gary O Neil said: “It’s a big achievement, no doubt. You saw (against Crystal Palace), if we wouldn’t have been at full tilt all season and the players hadn’t been given absolutely everything, that is how the Premier League can treat you, ruthless. Crystal Palace made us look like a team that was struggling. So the boys have given everything for the whole season, suffered some real tough blows, managed to pick themselves up and go again. A lot of hard work gone in, from players and staff and, yeah, that’s how we achieved it, really. That’s how we achieved it. We got everything out of absolutely everybody that we could. Every last drop of quality, energy, determination, managed to get it out of everyone.”
However, despite his delight at staying up against the odds, O’Neil shared his “huge disappointment” at his side’s performance at Selhurst Park. Eberechi Eze was on hand to score in either half and give Crystal Palace a 2-0 win over a Cherries side that failed to muster a shot on target.
Gary O Neil said: “But I don’t want it to finish like (the performance against Palace). At this moment, where we are with 39 points and the fact that we’re safe doesn’t make me feel any better about what I saw. Just huge disappointment, really. At the end of the season when I’ve sat down and we’ve stayed up, and I can obviously reflect on it from a clearer point of view, but (against Palace) what I saw from a team that was put out by me, I didn’t like.”
