Carlo Ancelotti's performance as Everton boss since the Premier League re-start has been described as "superb" after he guided the Blues to seven points from three games.
And the Italian's management of an injury-hit squad puts him "right near the top" of the other top flight managers in how they have coped with football's return.
Gav Buckland was a guest on the latest edition of the Royal Blue podcast and was full of praise for the Everton boss.
Adam Jones also believes that Ancelotti's second-half tactics in the win over Leicester City in midweek were spot on and "proved why" the Blues brought him to Goodison.
Buckland, who also highlighted the manager's "skilful manipulation" of limited midfield options, said: "He's done really well. The second-half was a managerial masterclass on Wednesday night.
"I go back to what I said at the start of lockdown, that you will see the better managers in that period, that self-contained group of nine games where you've got to manage resources and in that environment the better, more experienced coaches, would come to the fore. We have seen exactly that with Carlo.
"His performance is right up near the top. We've played two of the top three...he's been superb but I wouldn't expect anything less than that, from a manager of his experience."
Jones told the podcast that the win over Leicester may have crumbled to a draw or defeat, in the same circumstances, under a different boss.
"With another manager at Everton, I don't think Everton would've won that game," he said.
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"We would've thrown it away. The defence would not have stayed as solid and we would've drawn or even lost that game under a different manager.
"The second-half has proved why we brought Carlo Ancelotti to the club."
