Everton manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that five of his first-team squad were angling for exits from the club on transfer deadline day.
The Toffees boss had previously revealed his frustration with the Premier League for scheduling seven fixtures on January 31, arguing that transfer speculation could unsettle some of his players and affect their performances on the pitch.
In the end the Merseyside outfit managed to claim all three points from their home encounter with Leicester City on the night, but speaking at his post-match press conference, Allardyce claimed that the build-up to the game had been fraught with uncertainty.
"We were hit with that severe blow of the deadline and having to play tonight," he told reporters. "I'll tell you this, that five of our players in the squad today their agents had called to see if they could go out on loan.
"So it was obvious the player knew as well as us dealing with it which was never going to happen that we were going to let any of those go.
"But it is upsetting, it's not right, it disturbs the players, it hasn't disturbed us today, it's not affected the result I'm glad to say but it could easily have done so.
"It happened to me last season at Crystal Palace, it's happened again to me tonight and I've spent all day fending off people trying to upset my players and take my players away.
"It's alright for me, I don't have to go and run around on the pitch but it's not alright for the players when they get phone calls from their agents and we get agents saying: 'Sam's not playing him you've got to let him go'.
"It's not their position to tell us what to do. We must change that situation. Why can't we play a midweek game next week?"
Allardyce managed to complete his own piece of transfer business on deadline day, meanwhile, securing the loan capture of defender Eliaquim Mangala from Manchester City.
Neil Wilkes
