'Dyche will demand a reaction - and so will the fans'
The optimism garnered after the win over Burnley did not last long. A further two-point deduction and then a confidence-sapping 6-0 defeat at Chelsea put paid to that.
Uncertainty surrounds the takeover too, but on the pitch all is not lost - and the first of a series of huge games comes on Sunday with the visit of Nottingham Forest, the team directly below them in the Premier League table.
It is a game Everton must not lose and ideally win. Nothing is a given but after what happened on Monday, it's a time for a coming together - again - to get a result. The performances are secondary, it is the results that count.
There are senior players in the squad who will demand a reaction. Sean Dyche will demand a reaction, and so too will the fans. Will Dyche make changes? Could Andre Gomes get a start? Will Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Idrissa Gana Gueye be available? Will Jarrad Branthwaite be fit?
Plenty of questions, but Everton have to find the answers. If they can this weekend, it will give them a massive lift with games against Brentford and Luton on the horizon, not to mention the Merseyside derby next Wednesday.
