Frank Lampard must address biggest Everton concern to…

Frank Lampard must address biggest Everton concern to avoid history repeating itself

I think Saturday gave us a realisation of where we are as a team and as a football club.

The club did fantastically well during the summer transfer window - but we know it is going to take time. Things aren't going to change overnight.

We have two more Premier League games to get maximum points before the break for the World Cup starts.

However, ahead of that break, my only concern is that we have been in this situation before. This time last season, actually.

Look, we are a club in transition. But this time last season I felt like we weren't going to get relegated, but at the same time had no chance of securing European football.

It felt like we were going to be pretty comfortable and we needed a few transfer windows to overhaul things - I mean how many times have we said that!

It feels like the most used phrase since Farhad Moshiri came to the club. But it was a phrase we were all using this time last year.

But we all know what happened last season. We all thought we were comfortable and had a strong enough side to be secure in midtable.

And to avoid history repeating itself - and especially now Frank Lampard now has a full squad to choose from - we need to start picking up points.

We can’t afford to become complacent. We can’t just presume we are going to be safe. We all thought that last year and we were nearly all so wrong.

No-one, I mean no-one, connected to Everton Football Club wants to endure what we went through last season after being dragged into a relegation dogfight.

You look at the table after 13 games last season, we were 14th, on 15 points having won four, lost six and drew three. Now, at this moment in time, after 13 games, we have only won three as well as drawing and losing five times.

Of course we can see the improvements defensively and the fact Everton look a lot more solid, but going forward, especially away from home, remains a concern.

We don’t seem to be asking enough questions of the opposition and that is in part due to our decision making. I don’t like to compare stats, but it does sometimes give you balance as to where we are, but we have let games go by.

Now we face the task of making sure we can head into the break for the World Cup in the best shape possible. Not just for the sake of the players, but also the supporters.

We know we aren’t in the position we want to be. And we know we can’t turn things around overnight.

Some players rely on confidence as a way to go out and express themselves, while others thrive on fear. I think we have got to have a bit of both moving forward.

That fear of if we don’t start picking up points, where might it leave us. I want us to start being more ruthless. Let's get at the enemy and make it really hard for them and force the issue. Making sure we win all our battles along the way.

If we do that, then we will have no problems moving forward and we can all look towards a much brighter future for the club.

Let's get Goodison rocking

Next up for the Blues is another tough game against Leicester City.

Brendan Rodgers’ side endured a tough start to the campaign - and it looked at one point like the Northern Irishman could be relieved of his duties at the King Power.

However, to his and his side’s credit, they have really turned things around in recent weeks. Plus, they have got players who can hurt us, as they have done in the past.

But this is a home game - and the time has come for us to make Goodison Park the fortress we all know it can be. I honestly believe that on our day we can beat anyone at home.

So as we prepare to head to Goodison for the final time before the World Cup break this weekend, my message is a clear one: let's get Goodison rocking and push Frank and the players towards another huge three points.

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