Neville Southall issues Everton rallying cry amid Premier League appeal verdict wait
Neville Southall has told Everton to forget about the Premier League appeal verdict they’re waiting on and start focusing on getting results on the pitch instead.
The Toffees earned a draw against Crystal Palace on Monday night to move out of the relegation zone after being deducted ten points earlier this season, but are winless in their last eight games in the top flight.
But while the club await their appeal verdict to be revealed, with an announcement expected this week which could see points reinstated, legendary goalkeeper Southall has set the team a points target for safety and told the team to “do it ourselves”.
“It’s my belief that, f— the new ground, f— the Premier League,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account (21 February).
“It comes down to performance on the pitch alone. Our target is 20 points from 13 games.
“If anything else happens to change that great. We must stand alone and do it ourselves.”
Reality check for Everton?
A lot of fans and media pundits have been somewhat throwaway about the puinshment the club received in recent months, because people expected them to just survive anyway.
But a poor run of form recently means that is longer such a given, and if the club aren’t successful with their appeal against the points deduction they could be in real trouble.
When you then add to that the fact that the club could face a second punishment later in the season for the second charge they received, things start to look even more bleak.
But what Southall is saying is absolutely perfect, and is the real mentality that the players and club need to adopt between now and the end of the season. Performances will secure their safety, not reprieves from the league.
If the team start winning games and scoring goals again then the points total will be enough to secure Premier League status with or without the verdict going in their favour.
In other Everton news, Jamie Carragher names Toffees star as “best in the Premier League”.
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