Everton players face tough question as fans take relegation threat seriously

With less than a point per game almost three quarters into the season and just three points clear of the drop zone, there are genuine fears that Everton could suffer relegation for the first time in 71 years but is anyone beyond their loyal and long-suffering fanbase actually taking this very real threat seriously?

Earlier in the week, this correspondent was a guest on a television show that covers the Premier League and as I waited to speak to the hosts back in the studio, a clip showing an interview with Demarai Gray was played. A player who has been Everton’s most-consistent attacking threat this season but also, like several of his team-mates, in desperate need to rediscover that form from earlier in the campaign, he spoke about how the Blues are “a big club, who shouldn’t be down there” but he remained calm about the situation.

Such sentiments echoed the remarks made to me by another of Everton’s shining lights in what has otherwise been a torrid period, Anthony Gordon. I’ve been fortunate enough to have spoken to the Blues’ home-grown hero on a couple of occasions since the turn of the year and I’ve found him to be genuine, confident and articulate with what seems like a wise head on young shoulders given his tender years – he celebrated his 21st birthday only last month.

What struck me most from these conversations though were Gordon’s thoughts on the prospect of relegation. The first time I spoke to him was a one-on-one. We discussed his loan spell with Championship side Preston North End last season and while he was grateful for the experience it had provided with him, the winger acknowledged he didn’t want to be dropping back down to the second tier of English football any time soon.

Gordon said: “The