Paul Merson has offered his thoughts on Everton, issuing a warning to them ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
It has been a disastrous start to the year for Everton. After sacking Rafa Benitez, the club brought in Frank Lampard to guide the team back to winning ways. But the Englishman has failed to do so, with the Toffees currently on a run of four successive defeats in the Premier League. It has put them in a perilous situation as they languish in 17th place, level on points with Watford in the drop zone.
Reacting to Everton’s awful form, football pundit Paul Merson has issued a warning to Everton about the prospect of relegation. The former Arsenal professional has urged Lampard to turn things around quickly if they are to survive the drop this season.
“They’re sort of in that situation where it’s Everton, never been relegated, so they go out and try to play entertaining, attacking football,” Merson told Sky Sports. “Frank Lampard, when he was at Chelsea, always tried to play on the front foot and have a go.”
“I don’t know if Everton think they’re too good just to go and get a point somewhere, because points mount up. At the moment they’re chasing their tails. Wolves at home wasn’t a good day at the office, so just get a point – you’ve got to start a run somewhere.”
Everton’s most recent defeat saw them lose 1-0 to Wolves, with Conor Coady’s goal proving to be the difference. The Toffees are currently without a single goal in their last four league matches, conceding nine in the process. Merson suggested that Everton need a quick upturn of fortunes to survive relegation come the end of the season.
“I’m looking at Everton’s fixtures and the way they’re playing and I think they’re in big trouble,” Merson said. “I think they’re the ones to go now. You’ve only got to look at their fixtures – they’re atrocious. I just can’t see how they stay up. They’ve got games in hand, but where do they get points? You look at the Brentford game but that could be too late.”
“I think they’ve got to beat Newcastle,” Merson added, urging Everton to secure a win in their upcoming match against the Magpies on Thursday evening.
Paul Merson isn’t the only pundit to issue a relegation warning to Everton, as former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had offered a similar suggestion earlier this month.