Everton have been plunged deep into Premier League relegation trouble after being docked another two points for a second breach of spending rules.

The Toffees now sit just two points clear of the bottom three with seven fixtures remaining, although they have a game in hand on each of the three sides below them – Nottingham Forest, Luton and Burnley – and are 11 points better off than bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at their plight.

What has happened?

An independent commission has deducted two points from Everton’s tally after the club admitted a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over the three-year cycle to 2022-23, leaving them on 27 from 31 games.

Haven’t we been here before?

Yes. The Merseyside club were hit with an unprecedented 10-point penalty in November after being found to have “taken chances” with PSR. Their losses for the three-year period up to 2021-22 were £124.5million, £19.5million over the threshold, even accounting for allowances made for the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, they slipped to 19th place as a result, but the sanction was reduced to six points in February following a successful appeal, at which point they climbed to 15th.

What are the PSR?

These are the regulations governing a club’s maximum permitted losses. Normally top-flight clubs can lose up to £105million over the three-year assessment period without being in breach.

How much above the limit were Everton?

The club exceeded the spending limit during the specified period by £16.6million. During a three-day hearing, the commission considered mitigating factors cited by Everton, but ultimately decided a two-point penalty to take effect immediately was appropriate.

What were their arguments?

The Goodison Park outfit argued against further punishment, pointing to “the concept of double punishment, the significant mitigating circumstances facing the club due to the war in Ukraine, and the high level of co-operation and early admission of the club’s breach”.

What have Everton said?

The club have signalled both their intention to appeal and commitment to “working collaboratively” with the league on PSR matters, while expressing concern over “the inconsistency of different commissions in respect of points deductions applied”.

Are they alone?

No. Forest were last month docked four points for an overspend of £34.5million on their allowed total of £61million – £22million is deducted from the £105million limit for each season spent outside the Premier League during the qualifying period – with a further two points discounted to reflect their early plea and co-operation. Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester, who have since reported a pre-tax loss of £89.7million for the year to June 30, 2023, were referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for an alleged breach last month.

Sean Dyche was delighted with a couple of Everton’s fringe players after they stepped up to deliver in Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over his old club Burnley.

Former Claret Michael Keane scored Everton’s second in his first appearance since October 21, while alongside him in defence Ben Godfrey – making his first Premier League start of the season – made a vital block to prevent the Clarets getting back into it just before half-time.

Dyche said he had been forced to change his game plan significantly on Friday morning after Vitaliy Mykolenko joined the list of absentees but said the way his players responded showed they had bought into the system he and his staff are implementing.

“It’s something we built over my time here, not just me, the staff have been working really hard with the players to let them know the respect we have when they’re not in the side,” Dyche said.

“I’ve always thought the strongest groups I’ve played with or worked with are the people outside the starting 11 because they keep you strong, because they’re not just accepting it.

“I don’t mind players being disgruntled and asking me questions, but when it comes to your training do it right, do it properly and it will pay you back – and it is. There are people having to come in who haven’t played in a while but they’re coming and delivering.”

Those fringe players could be vital over the busy festive period, with Everton next facing a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Fulham on Tuesday. Abdoulaye Doucoure could be an injury doubt for that match after being replaced at half-time at Turf Moor with tightness in his hamstring.

For Burnley, who are among the sides Everton have beaten to reach the last eight in the League Cup, Saturday’s defeat left them with only eight points from 17 games, off the foot of the table on goal difference alone.

There were more encouraging signs in the performance but they were undone by two set-plays, with Amadou Onana allowed too much space to head in the opener from a corner, while Keane’s goal came as a result of a long free-kick pumped forward by Jordan Pickford.

It was another frustrating day at Turf Moor but the big positive was the return of Lyle Foster, who made his first appearance since October 21, coming on as a half-time substitute following time away to receive help with mental health issues.

Kompany welcomed the 23-year-old back but added a note of caution, saying this was only part of a process.

“We follow what the medical experts say,” Kompany said. “It’s step by step, it’s a small environment, it’s being with the team, being with the people he considers his friends. Keeping a very, very small world for him and that seems to put him in a good place. This is just part of his recovery as well.”

During the week, before it was known that Foster would play, Kompany had insisted the South Africa forward would not be available for the Africa Cup of Nations despite having been named in a 50-man provisional squad for the tournament that starts on January 13. That has not changed.

“It’s not even my decision – it’s not up to me,” he said. “We just can’t. It’s the medical advice we’re getting at the moment.

“The conflict of course is he loves to play for his country and from my side, I think AFCON is a big trophy, it’s a big competition, it’s important for me as an African coach to support the competition but it’s not up to me.

“We’ve done everything for the human being to this point, there’s no reason to change all of a sudden now.”

Everton appointed Ronald Koeman as manager on this day in 2016.

The former Southampton boss was installed in place of Roberto Martinez who was removed in the final week of the previous season.

The Toffees had finished a disappointing 11th after Martinez lost eight of his last 15 Premier League matches in charge.

Southampton received a reported £5million in compensation to bring the former Barcelona player, then 53, to Goodison Park from Saints, who had finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League.

Chairman Bill Kenwright said of Koeman after the parties had agreed a three-year deal: “We are really pleased to have secured the man who was our number one target from the moment we set out to appoint a new manager.”

Everton had briefly looked like breaking into the top four during Martinez’s early tenure, finishing fifth in 2013-14 and missing out on the Champions League only after falling away in the final weeks.

They failed to build on that progress during his second and third seasons, and Kenwright turned to Koeman to try and revive the team’s European ambitions.

“Everton’s history is a big one and we will try to reach what they did in the past,” said Koeman. “That is difficult but everything is possible.”

It was to prove an underwhelming appointment, however, with Koeman lasting just 16 months before being sacked with Everton 18th nine games into the 2017-18 campaign.

There has been something of a revolving door at the club since with Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard having all come and gone before Sean Dyche took over in January.

Koeman was not out of work long, landing the job as Netherlands national team manager the following February after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. He left in 2020 to take over at Barcelona but lasted just a year at the Nou Camp.

He returned to the national team job after Louis van Gaal stood down following the 2022 World Cup.

Former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane delivered a withering assessment of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford following Everton’s Premier League defeat by title-chasing Manchester City.

The 29-year-old was given little chance by Ilkay Gundogan’s stunning first-half strike, but was unable to keep out Erling Haaland’s header seconds later and was well beaten by Gundogan’s second-half free-kick as City won 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

Analysing the third goal, Keane, who has questioned Pickford’s credentials in the past, disagreed with fellow pundit Micah Richards’ opinion of Gareth Southgate’s number one.

He told Sky Sports: “Pickford, for the goal…my goodness. He looks so small in there. There’s no spring, he’s not anticipating.

“Micah said before the game he’s a top goalkeeper. He’s not.”

Keane was, however, full of praise for Gundogan and in particular, his improvised 37th-minute finish after he had controlled Riyad Mahrez’s cross on his thigh before flicking the ball home with his back still to goal.

He said: “What an outstanding player. Again, we mentioned (Everton boss) Sean Dyche will be disappointed with the defending, but once it goes in there, his first touch is brilliant; his second one is even better.

“What a player this guy is, absolutely brilliant, the way he times his runs into the box…what a magnificent finish. I’d watch that all day. Brilliant.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche insists it would be wrong to think “everything is solved” following their resounding win over Brighton.

A 5-1 victory, only the club’s second away win in the Premier League this season, lifted the relegation-threatened Toffees out of the bottom three and two points clear of the drop zone.

However, despite the morale-boosting result prompting many pundits to now favour Everton escaping a first top-flight relegation since 1951, Dyche has cautioned against complacency – especially with treble-chasing Manchester City next up at Goodison Park.

“When I walked in here the thing that hit me instantly was a big result, big everything; tough result, low everything. That needed to change in-house,” he told the club’s website.

“The in-house feel here, the environment we work in, and the flow had to get more level and more consistent in our daily work and thinking.

“We’ve spoken to the players and staff about it. It’s important to handle good times in terms of not thinking everything is solved and right and proper.

“When I talk about seeing through the noise, that maybe implies when things aren’t going right but it very much applies to when things are going right as well.”

Everton stunned Brighton with a 5-1 win on the south coast that moved the Toffees out of the relegation zone on a day that left Southampton in deep trouble and edged Leicester closer to the drop.

Just three matches, all with big implications at the bottom, produced 21 goals as sorry Leicester went down 5-3 at Fulham, dropping into the relegation zone along with Leeds as Nottingham Forest climbed out with a 4-3 win over basement boys Southampton.

The biggest smiles were on Everton faces as fans celebrated only their second league away win of the season, and one of the more unlikely results of the campaign, as they took out some of their considerable frustrations on Europe-chasing Brighton.

A quick break saw Abdoulaye Doucoure poke Everton in front after just 34 seconds, and the Mali midfielder made it 2-0 just before the break as he met Dwight McNeil’s cross with a stunning strike.

Alex Iwobi was trying to set up Doucoure for a hat-trick six minutes later but when he over-hit his pass, McNeil picked up the loose ball and struck a cross which went in off Jason Steele for an own goal.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi made four changes at the break and his side were much improved, but Everton hit them on the break in the 76th minute when McNeil rounded Steele, celebrating the fourth goal before he even applied the finish.

Although Alexis Mac Allister got one back soon after, finally beating the superb Jordan Pickford, there would be no denying Everton a huge win as McNeil added an emphatic strike in stoppage time.

That puts the Toffees 17th, two points clear of the bottom three but still one behind Forest, who took a step away from the trapdoor by pushing Southampton all but through it.

Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice in four minutes midway through the first half to put Forest in control, first sweeping home Brennan Johnson’s low cross, then rifling in a volley when Southampton failed to clear.

The visitors were back in it soon after when Carlos Alcaraz slotted home but the two-goal Forest lead was restored from the penalty spot by Morgan Gibbs-White after Ainsley Maitland-Niles caught Johnson.

Lyanco’s 51st minute header restored Southampton belief and the visitors were on top until Forest broke away with 17 minutes left and Danilo lifted the ball over Alex McCarthy.

James Ward-Prowse converted a stoppage-time penalty but there was no avoiding a defeat that leaves the Saints eight points adrift with three to play.

The goal rush had started earlier in the day at Craven Cottage, where Fulham tore into Leicester to end their three-game unbeaten run and leave them second from bottom.

Leicester, who started the day outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone, were ripped apart in the first half as Willian, Carlos Vinicius and Tom Cairney gave Fulham a commanding 3-0 lead before the break.

Cairney then got his second early in the second half before Leicester finally woke up, too late to change the outcome.

Harvey Barnes pulled one back but Willian’s second made it 5-1 before Barnes scored again and James Maddison added a late penalty to at least limit the damage to Leicester’s goal difference.

Everton boss Sean Dyche insisted his side never doubted themselves after a thumping 5-1 Premier League victory over Brighton lifted the Toffees two points clear of the relegation zone.

It was Everton’s first away league win in 14 attempts and could not have come at a more opportune time, with just three matches now remaining to secure their top-flight safety.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s strike after 33 seconds laid down what retrospectively ultimately felt like an emphatic opening statement as both he and Dwight McNeil went on to scores braces on either side of the half.

Dyche said: “People will be out there thinking right, OK, there’s life in that team but we’ve never lost sight of that.

“It just reminds the players that their work ethic, their commitment to the cause, their commitment to the group is really important because I know there’s quality.

“I’ve always believed there’s quality. I’ve said it many times, but talking about it doesn’t win you a game. It’s the collective mentality to go and deliver everything you’ve got.

“We were very frustrated not to come away with all three points (against Leicester) but we got a reward for carrying on that mentality in their performances tonight.”

Doucoure netted his second when he volleyed the ball home after 29 minutes before McNeil’s cross further buried Brighton, with it deflecting off Jordan Steele, who had stooped to save but instead felt the ball bounce off the back of his leg and in.

Alexis Mac Allister clawed one back before McNeil’s first but the Brighton burial was not complete until McNeil fired home the visitors’ fifth in the embers of second-half stoppage-time.

Victory meant Dyche’s side are safe for the time being, with league leaders Manchester City up next followed by encounters with Wolves and Bournemouth.

“They’re very high feeling the feel-good factor,” he added. “But it’s only another step. I said that after Arsenal, and sometimes people forget that. There’s three more big steps we’ve got to take.”

Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi, meanwhile, suggested his side’s performance revealed they were not yet ready to go toe-to-toe with the best in the business, though he was unspecific about whether he was looking at England’s top four or more broadly to the other side of the Channel.

It could still be possible for Brighton to secure European football with a seventh-place finish, but De Zerbi’s men would feel more satisfied with a higher position.

He said: “Of course we can lose the game. We can lose against Everton, but I’m disappointed for the first half because it was tough.

“We showed we are not ready yet to compete and to achieve the big target.

“But I am speaking about mentality, not other things, not other parts of football.

“It’s not easy because playing in the last period, three games in a week is difficult if you are not used to playing so many games.

“But if we want to improve, if we want to fix our target higher, we have to improve very fast.”

Dwight McNeil scored a second-half brace as Everton climbed into 16th and two points clear of the Premier League relegation zone to dampen Brighton’s European dreams with a thumping 5-1 victory at the Amex.

It was a shocking first half for the seventh-placed hosts, who fell behind after just 33 seconds through Abdoulaye Doucoure, who later bagged a first-half brace.

Albion’s woes were exacerbated when goalkeeper Jason Steele turned the ball into his own net and McNeil added another for Everton in the second half.

Alexis Mac Allister was able to claw one back for the home side, but the rout was firmly recorded when McNeil scored his second late in stoppage time.

Like their Merseyside rivals on Saturday, the away end largely spurned the call to commemorate the King’s coronation with the singing of the national anthem and attempted to drown it out with a rendition of Spirit of the Blues.

Those chants quickly turned to elated cheers when Dominic Calvert-Lewin collected the ball with his back to Brighton’s goal and – with a neat pivot – crossed to Doucoure at the far post, who obligingly tapped home.

Brighton worked a free-kick to Facundo Buonanotte on the right, but Jordan Pickford was alert to his nodded effort from a tight angle, picking it out of the air with little need for effort.

It was the visitors piling on the pressure at the 25-minute mark thanks to some fine work from Alex Iwobi, who collected the ball inside his own half and cooly controlled it in the final third, where Albion were eventually able to shut down the initial wave of attack.

Kaoru Mitoma tried to set up Danny Welbeck who could not make contact as he slid toward the Everton goal, while control once again began to feel like an elusive pursuit for the hosts, who found themselves at the mercy of Doucoure.

This time he latched onto McNeil’s cross from the left before volleying the ball past Steele to double Everton’s advantage on 29 minutes.

Brighton hoped that would be the end to their disastrous first half but McNeil had other ideas as he sent in a cross which Steele stooped forward to save, but instead further buried his side when the ball deflected in off the back of his leg.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi made four changes to start the second half including the introduction of Evan Ferguson, who was available for the first time after missing four matches with an ankle injury.

It was fellow substitute Solly March who first tested Pickford and lent the Seagulls a spark they had been sorely missing, getting stuck in and winning a corner.

Ferguson came close on the subsequent set-piece as he forced a good save from the Toffees shot-stopper with a nodded effort at the far post.

Albion finally started to resemble a superior-looking side and remained camped in Everton’s half as Ferguson came inches away from pulling one back with a left-footed effort tipped away by Pickford before Mac Allister hit the crossbar.

It was the visitors, however, who extended their advantage against the run of play after Iwobi broke down the left and flicked the ball to McNeil, who evaded Lewis Dunk’s late sliding challenge and patiently tucked in the Toffees’ fourth.

Three minutes later, Mitoma’s rebound took a fortunate bounce off Mac Allister and in, but McNeil was not done for the night as he netted Everton’s fifth in added time.

James Tarkowski has no regrets over his decision to join Everton last summer despite the threat of suffering a second successive relegation.

Tarkowski was Frank Lampard’s first summer signing last June, joining on a free transfer from Burnley where his final campaign ended with the Clarets dropping into the Championship.

Things have not gone to plan at Goodison Park – Lampard was sacked in January and Everton remain in deep trouble going into Monday’s trip to high-flying Brighton – while Burnley have bounced straight back to the Premier League, but Tarkowski insisted he would not change his decision.

“My focus is completely on Everton and I don’t regret joining this club, for sure,” he said in the Liverpool Echo.

Asked what lessons he could bring from his time battling the drop with Burnley, he added: “Not panicking too much and becoming too obsessed with other teams and what their results are and just trying to focus on us.

“I have said it for the last few weeks really – if we do our job, we haven’t got to concern ourselves with what other teams are doing. I don’t think we should be looking at other teams hoping they will do us a favour, if it happens that way, fair enough. But we have to focus on ourselves more than anything.”

After Lampard’s exit, Tarkowski found himself reunited with former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, sacked by the Clarets last April but brought in as Lampard’s replacement in January.

The centre-back said: “At Burnley… he had a team with quite a small budget and were expected to go down at the start of every season. He kept them in the league and he has a history of doing that.”

Everton will go into their final four fixtures without captain Seamus Coleman, who was injured in last Monday’s 2-2 draw at Leicester.

The 34-year-old’s injury is not as bad as first feared but is likely to have ended his campaign prematurely, a major blow to the club at a difficult time.

Even as Coleman was being carried off the pitch at the King Power, the full-back was trying to rally his team-mates.

“That tells you everything about Seamus,” Tarkowski said. “When I first turned to see it I thought he was shouting at the lad who tackled him, it was only when I heard our fans start to cheer that I realised what he was actually doing.

“I haven’t seen that before but it just epitomises what Seamus is like and his love for this club.

“Seamus is such a good leader and a good captain, he is a great talker in the dressing room, so he will be a big miss in that aspect. That puts a bit more demand on the other lads to start talking and taking that ownership.”

Sean Dyche believes Everton’s performance in Monday’s 2-2 draw at Leicester has brought the “feel-good factor” back to the squad, even if it did not result in three badly-needed points in their fight against relegation.

Everton remain winless in their last seven games having come from behind to rescue a point at the King Power Stadium, but Dyche was keen to take the positives from a performance in which his side had 23 shots at goal, their most in a Premier League fixture for three and a half years.

As they prepare for another Monday away match – this time a much tougher looking fixture at high-flying Brighton – Dyche said the Leicester game had given his players a confidence boost.

“The Leicester performance was a mixture of what we want,” he said. “Good energy and good detail, apart from the mistakes from the goals. We looked a real threat constantly and I was pleased with the team performance.

“It reaffirms to them that we are on the right track. I know we aren’t in the league and the table, but in the performances we are.

“We didn’t get the full reward for it but we did get the reward of the feel-good factor and rightly so. It’s not easy going on the road in the Premier League.”

Everton won three of Dyche’s first seven games in charge but are now winless since the 1-0 victory over Brentford on March 11, since when they have taken four points from the last seven.

“It’s a quality of performance that we want to build,” Dyche said. “We have done that in certain games, particularly against Arsenal when we first got here. It shows it is in there – it’s the consistency I’ve been searching for.”

Finding that consistency has been a key theme that Dyche has emphasised to his players this week.

“The thing is, it’s parked really quickly,” he added of the Leicester performance. “We have to use it wisely, but then you have to go and deliver it again.

“It can’t be once every few games, it has to be consistent. That is what I have been talking about on the training pitch and what I have been talking about through the media about our performances.”

Everton go into the weekend stuck in 19th position, albeit only one point behind the three teams above them. Leeds head to Manchester City on Saturday while Leicester and Nottingham Forest are, like Everton, both in action on Monday.

“Like everyone in the Premier League, when you’re down, looking up, everything seems different and we have to make sure we take away that feeling and focus on our performance like we did at Leicester,” Dyche said.

“That was about us, that wasn’t about Leicester. That is a thing we have been trying to get the players to really grasp – to grip hold of games, but it’s not easy when you’re playing against top sides.”

Everton are in discussion with possible investors as owner Farhad Moshiri seeks an injection of revenue for the Premier League strugglers, the PA news agency understands.

The team are second from bottom of the table and a point adrift of safety as Sean Dyche looks to mastermind an escape from relegation and preserve the club’s near 70-year stay in the top flight.

It is understood that MSP Sports Capital and 777 Partners are the parties being spoken to, after Moshiri said in February that he was in talks with “top investors of real quality” to invest in Everton’s new stadium, which is currently under construction at a cost of £760million.

The club’s most recent accounts showed a loss over a five-year period of £430m, significantly above the £105m that the Premier League allowed for across any three years.

Those figures include £170m of losses rocked up during the Covid pandemic, which can be written off.

Figures from New York-based MSP were present at Goodison Park when the team lost 2-1 to Southampton in January, with reports suggesting it is likely to want to be represented in the boardroom should an investment be made.

777 has already invested in several clubs in European football, including La Liga’s Sevilla and Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin. It also owns Genoa in Italy and Belgium’s Standard Liege.

Everton captain Seamus Coleman has confirmed his injury is not as bad as first feared.

The 34-year-old defender appeared to have suffered a serious knee injury during Everton’s 2-2 draw with relegation rivals Leicester on Monday night.

Coleman received treatment on the pitch before he was carried off on a stretcher at the King Power Stadium having collided with Leicester’s Boubakary Soumare.

After the game, manager Sean Dyche feared the worst but Coleman confirmed on Everton’s Twitter that there is no anterior cruciate ligament damage and he could be back in action soon.

He told supporters: “Just wanted to update you all, thanks so much for the well wishes. Just back from my scan and pleased to say I have no ACL damage. Be back soon.”

Nathan Patterson replaced Coleman against the Foxes and Everton are in 19th place in the table, one point from safety, with four games left to play.

Everton manager Sean Dyche admits nerves are having an inhibiting effect on his side’s hopes of escaping relegation.

The Toffees boss has spoken about correcting minor details and being encouraged by aspects of certain performances but his acceptance that the perilous situation the club are in, as they seek to safeguard their current 69-year top-flight existence, is impacting the squad does not bode well for Monday’s must-win game at fellow strugglers Leicester.

Asked why he thought results – now just one win in 10 matches – had declined, Dyche said: “Nerves, tension, focus, build-up to games.

“There have been injuries, suspensions, different players coming in and out the side, all those things go into that.

“You are looking to work through those periods when the challenges come. Like we did at Chelsea and Tottenham, we got good points.

“The two (occasions) that stick in my craw a bit are the second half against Fulham (losing 3-1 having equalised) and the second half on Thursday (when they conceded three goals in 10 minutes in the 4-1 defeat to Newcastle) without a shadow of doubt.

“It is tough when the games are quick because there is only so much you can do to prep a team, usually it is rest, recuperation, some tactical planning and some tactical work.

“This (Newcastle defeat) has to be shut down quickly because we have to be ready to go on Monday.

“I spoke to the players in the week about the ongoing mentality about performing. At this stage of the season it comes down to will, demand and mentality to take games on.”

Dyche hopes captain Seamus Coleman’s return will help bring some much-needed leadership to his relegation-threatened side.

The Republic of Ireland international has missed the last three matches with a hamstring problem and during that time the Toffees have picked up just one point, conceded seven times and even in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace looked over-exposed at right-back.

Coleman is expected to be fit to regain his place in the team and bolster a flank on which stand-ins Mason Holgate, who was sent off for two yellow cards at Selhurst Park, and Ben Godfrey look out of their depth.

The 34-year-old is also the most progressive option of the three when it comes to being confident enough to overlap in attack but it is his experience which may be most needed as they head into a must-win game against fellow strugglers Leicester.

“He’s a very important player with his history and understanding of the club,” said Dyche.

“He has been a loss for us so we do look forward to him being back. Until the second goal (in Thursday’s 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle) it was a very good performance but after the second goal that’s the big challenge for me.

“Where did the mentality go? How quickly did that change? Who re-grips it? Who in our team goes ‘right, OK, let’s re-grip what we’re doing here’ because we weren’t a million miles away? You can’t wait for it to happen.”

The Newcastle defeat was hugely damaging, not only because it left them with just two more home matches – one of which is against Manchester City – to extend their 69-year top-flight stay, but because of the effect it had on morale.

Players looked shot at the final whistle, at which time Goodison Park was half-empty as the supporters who had lined the streets to greet the team coach with their pyrotechnics and flags had headed for the exits after Newcastle’s third went in.

Asked whether he thought the team had lost the fans, Dyche added: “I don’t think so. I think they will be backing the club to the end.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche hopes captain Seamus Coleman’s return will help bring some much-needed leadership to his relegation-threatened side.

The Republic of Ireland international has missed the last three matches with a hamstring problem and during that time the Toffees have picked up just one point, conceded seven times and even in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace looked over-exposed at right-back.

Coleman is expected to be fit to regain his place in the team and bolster a flank on which has seen stand-ins Mason Holgate, who was sent off for two yellow cards at Selhurst Park, and Ben Godfrey look out of their depth.

The 34-year-old is also the most progressive option of the three when it comes to being confident enough to overlap in attack but it is his experience which may be most needed as they head into a must-win game against fellow strugglers Leicester.

“He’s a very important player with his history and understanding of the club,” said Dyche.

“He has been a loss for us so we do look forward to him being back. Until the second goal (in Thursday’s 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle) it was a very good performance but after the second goal that’s the big challenge for me.

“Where did the mentality go? How quickly did that change? Who re-grips it? Who in our team goes ‘right, OK, let’s re-grip what we’re doing here’ because we weren’t a million miles away? You can’t wait for it to happen.”

The Newcastle defeat was hugely-damaging, not only because it left them with just two more home matches – one of which is against Manchester City – to extend their 69-year top-flight stay, but because of the effect it had on morale.

Players looked shot at the final whistle, at which time Goodison Park was half-empty as the supporters who had lined the streets to greet the team coach with their pyrotechnics and flags had headed for the exits after Newcastle’s third went in.

Asked whether he thought the team had lost the fans, Dyche added: “I don’t think so. I think they will be backing the club to the end.”

The Everton Fan Advisory Board has called for club chair Bill Kenwright to be replaced, saying it has no confidence in his leadership.

The statement from the group, which was formed in 2021 and is officially recognised by the club, comes a day after the relegation-battling Toffees suffered a 4-1 Premier League home defeat to Newcastle to drop to 19th place, and reflects long-running issues between fans and the board.

The FAB has repeatedly wanted increased communication between the club and supporters during a second consecutive season fighting against the drop, and also one in which Everton has been referred by the Premier League to an independent commission over an alleged breach of financial regulations.

Kenwright angered many fans with a letter to supporters last week in which he defended the board’s actions, a statement seen by many as being tone deaf considering the club’s predicament.

Members of the board have not attended fixtures at Goodison Park since January, when the club said there were concerns for their safety.

Friday’s statement from FAB said: “The chair of any organisation has a core responsibility for leading the board, ensuring its focus on strategic matters and direction, overseeing the company’s business, and setting high governance standards.

“We were therefore hugely disappointed at the chairman’s statement last Friday.

“At a critical time for our club, when we most needed leadership, understanding, accountability and a recognition of the strength of feeling and concern across large parts of the fanbase, we got the absolute opposite.

“The situation as it stands is not sustainable, not befitting of our great club and as Evertonians we do not deserve it. After careful consideration, we are therefore making a call of no confidence in the current chair of Everton Football Club.”

The statement went on to demand that majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri implements broader changes in the boardroom.

“The FAB is also calling on the majority shareholder to urgently take charge of securing stronger expertise, experience and more appropriate leadership for our club and ask that he be ready to explain to fans the action and timetable for making this happen,” it said.

“Finally, we want to acknowledge the work of those doing the day to day work within the club in what must be extremely difficult circumstances, as well as Evertonians who have shown time and time again that they will stop at nothing to support our club.”

Kenwright has been on the Everton board since 1989, acquiring a majority holding in 1999 and becoming chair in 2004. He remained in the post following Moshiri’s purchase of a 49.9 per cent stake in the club in 2016, which he increased to 94 per cent in 2022.