Sam Allardyce has defended Farhad Moshiri and fears Everton’s players could 'crack under the pressure' in their fight to avoid relegation.
Everton are currently in a huge battle to avoid playing Championship football next season after they dropped into the Premier League bottom three at the weekend. It is the first time the Goodison Park club has found itself in the relegation places this late into a season since 1999.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield means Frank Lampard's side are now two points adrift of safety with a game in hand to play on the two teams directly above them, Burnley and Leeds United.
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Many Everton supporters have pointed the blame for the club’s current plight in the direction of the board and owner Moshiri. However, Allardyce feels that Everton's problems are the fault of the club’s players as they haven't delivered on the pitch.
“I can’t believe it, I don’t think anybody can. I think the years have rolled by since I was there and it seems to have got worse not got better,” the former Blues boss told talkSPORT.
“The constant change of managers and I suppose in the end the players are the ultimate problem for not delivering on the pitch as everyone expected with the money that’s been spent on them.
“I think when you look how many managers have been in charge of such a great club and lasted as long as a season, season-and-a-half, since Ronald Koeman and then myself.
“From there one every manager has not really been there long enough to establish himself. I think that every manager has had a struggle because he’s not got the right results and there could be many different factors for that.
“Of course deep down inside from Everton’s point of view you can’t really blame Farhad because he signed the money, but I suppose everyone has to take a bit of the blame when you’re there at the time.
“But I think it needs to be the players that have come in and haven’t delivered as much as they should have done.
“When you see where they are at the moment, which is unexpected, particularly this year when Rafa took over, they then find themselves in this position.
“It’s a desperate situation for them and I think if they survive they’ve got to go really deep into trying to get it right from there on.”
