Everton have nine games left this season. They are nine games like no other.
For so long, the players - everyone at the club - has had an excuse. Times have been tough and there have been so many problems on and off the pitch.
From issues with the ownership to the points deductions and even to injury crises, the last few years have been incredibly difficult. While the players who have helped Everton come through this period deserve immense credit, they have also been able to use those problems as a ‘get-out’ when they have struggled.
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That situation has now gone. Everton have a new manager, new owners and a 17 point gap to the bottom three.
As the new accounts have shown, The Friedkin Group have provided stability following their takeover in December. David Moyes has lifted the players since his return in January. And the consequence of the hard work he has inspired means I am 99% confident that, this season, the club will not end up in a relegation battle.
This is the time for the players to start to play with freedom, to express themselves and show us what they can do. We are in the run-in now, and the club has a number of really challenging fixtures. They should be seen as opportunities for the players to test themselves against the best in the Premier League.
There are so many players in that squad with a point to prove. More than a dozen are out of contract in the summer and several more will enter the final year of their deals. James Garner is one of them. I would love to see him show us all what he can do in the weeks to come. He is clearly a talented player and that pass to Beto against Leicester City was proof of that. He works so hard - can he add more moments like that to his game?
Everton are about to go through a period of huge transition and there will be players there who will be desperate to earn a shot at being part of this club’s future.
After so many years of hardship, why would they not want to be in that first group to take the club to the new stadium and hopefully lay the foundation for a successful future?
Well, for those who do, now is the best chance they will have to make a claim for that honour.
