Five terrifying realities if Everton's Premier League relegation nightmare comes true

Frank Lampard was able to smile and shrug off the pressure that is facing him and Everton at Friday's press conference ahead of another Premier League clash with three valuable points on the line this weekend.

The Toffees boss remains confident they can navigate their way out of trouble. But the harsh realities of relegation loom if they don’t. Dropping out of the Premier League is a nightmare for any club. But if Everton suffer their first relegation in 71 years it could hurt them more than most.

The club is at a crucial juncture. They have recently had to suspend sponsorships with businesses linked to oligarch Alisher Usmanov and they are enduring their worst season in almost two decades. Merseyside reporter examines what the terrifying prospect of relegation from the top flight could mean for the Toffees.

This wasn’t the dream when Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri started pumping his cash into the club back in 2016. They have already been handcuffed by Financial Fair Play rules which stifled summer spending for Rafael Benitez. It also meant Lampard couldn’t buy the club’s way out of trouble in January either when he arrived just before the transfer window closed. But if they go down things could get a hell of a lot worse. Moshiri, who rarely speaks in public, will surely be aghast at any sort of stint in the Championship given the lofty ambitions he had for the club. But there seems no intention to walk away for now.

There would be player exits, of course. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, even though he has not scored since his return from injury, is already of interest to the likes of Arsenal. He would want out. Richarlison and Jordan Pickford are two others who wouldn’t be short of buyers should they want to go and