Richard Dunne believes Everton's struggles last season were down to neither Rafa Benitez or Frank Lampard and thinks there is a lot of "clearing out" to be done.
The former Blues defender described the campaign as "difficult to watch" after early form gave him hope - only for the year to descend into a relegation battle. Dunne blamed that on recruitment failures and managerial changes and said the work needed to repair the damage will take some time.
But, looking ahead, he added: "There needs to be an improvement or the inevitable will happen and the manager will change again."
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Dunne started his career at Everton, joining as a teenager and rising to the first team before moving to Manchester City before spells at Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers.
Asked about his reflections on the Blues' season in an interview with Bet365, he said: "It's been difficult to watch them because in the last couple of seasons they've started off really well and looked like they were going to compete for a Europa League place at least and it's just fallen apart.
"Certainly this season they got themselves into a really bad situation so it's difficult to watch them, especially with the amount of money they've spent over the last few years, the recruitment has not been right for them. That's not down to Lampard who's only had a couple of months there. The job was probably bigger than he expected going in there. It looks like there's a lot of clearing out to be done there. He needs to be given the opportunity. It wasn't his fault this season or Benitez's either, I think there's just an overload of players that aren't up to the standard of Everton. They got themselves out of it in the end and the manager deserves credit for that but there needs to be an improvement or the inevitable will happen and the manager will change again."
Dunne believes Everton need to improve in all areas and the job Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell have is "not a one window fix".
Crucial to the rebuild is finding players in whose fitness management can trust - and Dunne believes there is a lack of those in the current squad. Asked for his views on Dele Alli, who played a key role in leading the comeback against Crystal Palace that secured Everton's safety, the former defender said: "He's done OK but he's not done enough to start in the team and Everton needs players to start next season. So if Alli is going to cost them millions they would be foolish not to look around and see if they can get someone they can trust and they know will be available. He's not proved that over the last six months."
Dunne continued: "It's a different line-up every time I watch them because the players aren't performing consistently. They need some players they can trust and build a team around. They don't have that at the moment and it's a tough ask. The expectations can't be raised too high."
