Everton loanee claims the fans made his life 'difficult' following poor run of form

Neal Maupay has opened up on his struggles at Everton last season, claiming that the fans made his experience 'really difficult'.

Maupay, 27, netted his first goal for over a year against West Ham while on loan at Brentford before the international break with his last goal coming against the same opposition for Everton in September last year.

After just one goal last season, he was allowed to leave on loan to re-join his old club and he's managed one goal and three assists in all competitions so far.

Following his dry spell in front of goal at Everton, the fans were particularly critical of the forward, who missed seven big chances last season as well as two in the opening day defeat to Fulham at Goodison Park.

The 27-year-old spoke to Sky Sports revealing how tough he found last season, but he also called out the fans who he believed turned against him: “I’m not one who is going to find excuses, I just think we as players weren’t good enough – myself included.

“It was pretty clear after a couple of months that we were fighting for our lives, so there was no big expectation apart from saving the club. Then we changed manager, we changed system and there was a lot of stuff going on at the club, so that didn’t help.

"But, at the end of the day, we are on the pitch and we had to do the job. We got it done in the end and it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t a nice place to be because, on the last game, we needed a win and we scored literally at the end of the game, otherwise we would have been down.

“As a striker, you need confidence, you need to score goals and I didn’t. I scored in my second game at Goodison and I thought it could be a good season, but for multiple reasons, it didn’t work out.

“I didn’t play much, but when I was on the pitch, I wasn’t the best version of myself. I didn’t find my best form.

“I’m always honest and tell the truth; last season, I didn’t enjoy myself. I didn’t enjoy my football and life up there was tough. The people around the club, the fans, made my life really difficult.”

The future for Maupay looks to be away from Goodison Park, especially given the signings of Beto and Youssef Chermiti in the summer.

Following his loan spell, it is likely he will be allowed to depart as the club looks to move him on after just one goal in 32 appearances to date.