There's no getting away from it - it is looking very grim for Everton.
Thursday night's 4-1 home loss to Newcastle United leaves the Blues firmly entrenched in the relegation places going into Monday's massive, massive match at fellow strugglers Leicester City.
As hard as it is to say, there is no shame in losing at home to Newcastle nowadays. But it was not only the end result that was so damaging - it was the manner of it.
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Yes, the Blues were more than a match for the Champions League-bound Magpies in a first half in which they were unfortunate to be behind. But, as fragile as their confidence may be, there is no excusing what happened after the second goal went in.
On a night when so many home players struggled, none fared worse than Ben Godfrey. It wasn't a nice sight to see him toiling so badly and, really, Sean Dyche should have brought him off long before Newcastle doubled their advantage. Especially when the Everton manager had a natural right-back - which Godfrey isn't - on the bench in Nathan Patterson.
Seamus Coleman's recent absence has underlined how indebted Everton remain to their 34-year-old captain. You've just got to hope he will recover in time for the trip to the King Power Stadium.
If not, Dyche simply has to go with Patterson, no matter his inexperience. In the past two games, Godfrey and Mason Holgate - who will return from suspension after his sending off at Crystal Palace - have shown they cannot play in the position.
The other big call must come at centre-back. One of the disappointments of Dyche's reign so far has been how many goals his side have conceded - it's now 22 in 13 matches - and one of the biggest conundrums has been why he has yet to turn to Yerry Mina. Yes, the former Burnley boss knows James Tarkowski and Michael Keane inside out, but when fit - and he has been for a while now, it appears - Mina remains the Blues' best centre-back. And, not forgetting, a huge threat at attacking set-pieces.
So that's Mina and Patterson in. But what about midfield? The only obvious change to make is to bring Demarai Gray back in for the clash against his former club. But who to miss out? Alex Iwobi struggled against Newcastle but there is no question he is more effective inside than out on the right-wing. So it could be time to move Iwobi back into the middle, alongside Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure, with Idrissa Gueye dropping out of the team.
Behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, that's a more attack-minded side than maybe Dyche will go for. But given the fixtures that follow it, anything less than three points against Leicester will simply not be good enough.
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