Frank Lampard has won four games out of 10 since he was appointed as Everton manager. On Sunday his team were hammered 4-0 by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
Everton are three points above the relegation zone, in 17th. They have lost four out of their last five league games.
The situation at Everton is bad, and they are in real danger of going down.
But they have 10 games to go – and games in hand on most of their relegation rivals – so they can get out of the mess they are in.
However, when you look at their remaining fixtures, it is easy to see why there’s not much optimism about the Toffees future.
Everton’s last 10 games
West Ham (A)
Burnley (A)
Manchester United (H)
Crystal Palace (H)
Leicester City (H)
Liverpool (A)
Chelsea (A)
Leicester City (A)
Brentford (H)
Arsenal (A)
Lampard has a tough job ahead. Despite the games in hand, it’s clear to see why it will be difficult for Everton to get enough points to stay up.
With the way the table is, Burnley away will be a massive game for both teams. All Premier League managers will tell you Turf Moor is not an easy place to go.
There are no easy games for the Toffees and perhaps this weekend’s international break has come at just the right time for them.
“We need to work repetitively and physically,” said Lampard.
“We need to repetitively defend (our) box because we did it well at Newcastle the other night and then we didn’t do it well (against Palace)..
“The only way I know to get better without a magic wand is to work.
“So we’ve got two weeks, probably the small bonus of an international break because I’d rather go again now personally but we’ll work.”
The Everton boss added: “I think if you offer any Evertonian before the game do you want to win the game and get to Wembley or do you want to stay up, we all know what the answer is.
“We performed at 70% today throughout the whole game. And it’s not good enough.”
Lampard even questioned whether his team has the “bollocks” to play after that performance.
With Everton struggling, it’s natural some will question the appointment of Lampard. They took a risk on a young manager who failed to get Derby Country promoted and was sacked by Chelsea, and he never been in a relegation battle.
They’ve produced some promising performances, such as the 1-0 win against Newcastle and the 3-0 win against Leeds.
They’ve also played well in patches – such as the opening 20 minutes in the heavy defeat at Palace.
However, they just can’t get results consistently.
The danger of Everton getting relegated for the first time in their history is real. Lampard needs to sort out the team fast, and he does not have a lot of time to do it.
Crystal Palace vs Everton Quarter-Finals Highlights
