'Alarm bells' - Journalist claims Everton face 'major' doubt pre-Burnley

Mark Douglas has questioned the character of Everton’s squad ahead of their crunch relegation clash.

Everton, with just 10 games left in the season, find themselves right in the thick of a relegation battle and games don’t get much bigger than their clash this evening away to fellow strugglers Burnley.

The Toffees were once again swept aside away from home last Sunday as they lost 2-1 at West Ham United, which is not as bad compared to some of their other away results this season against the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, but the mistakes that cost them will raise questions.

Alex Iwobi’s poor touch and Michael Keane’s sending-off may bring up a bigger question about this Everton squad, which Douglas discussed in the I. He said: ‘Relegation alarm bells that have been sounding since a heavy defeat to Tottenham checked the early optimism of the Lampard era will ring loud and clear if the Clarets prevail.

‘There are major doubts over the character of a team that hasn’t been able to bounce back when things have gone wrong.’

TIF Thoughts on Everton’s squad…

The Toffees will know that they dare not lose this match tonight against Burnley as it would see their gap to the bottom three go down to just a single point, whereas a draw may not be the worst result as it keeps the gap the same and ticks another game off the board.

It will be interesting to see what starting lineup Frank Lampard opts for this evening: does he go for experienced players that have been around for a while such as Alex Iwobi and Jonjoe Kenny, or does he opt for freshness and players that are new to this situation in the form of Anthony Gordon and Vitalii Mykolenko? Either way, Everton are set for a pivotal night at Turf Moor.

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