Only six teams have never been relegated from England’s top flight, but if things aren’t turned around quickly at Goodison Park that list could soon be reduced to five.

Everton are one of those teams to never be relegated, but the Toffees are sat in the relegation zone, with only goal difference separating them from Southampton at rock bottom. In recent years Everton have been one of the teams battling for European places, and particularly under David Moyes the side were consistently finishing in solid places in the Premier League.

Everton only have one top four finish in the past 20 years, but finishing 5th, 6th or 7th was regular and expected for a time. Frank Lampard was appointed less than a year ago and his side had only won one of their last 12 Premier League games, a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in October and there is clearly some troubles behind the scenes with reports of fallout and a toxic mood in the dressing room.

The club’s owners were in attendance on Saturday for the first time in over a year, and they watched on as Everton were beaten 2-0 by West Ham. There is a lot of pressure on the club and the owners from fans, and many fans are saying that the problems would not be fixed simply by getting a new manager to take over.

The questionable part was that after the news was public, owner Farhad Moshiri said the board had made the decision for him, to part ways with Lampard.

But we’re now into the second half of the season and time is against Everton to turn things around. Everton are a big club and it would be a tragedy for them to be playing Championship football next season, after Lampard helped them escape relegation last season. So the big question is around who is capable of changing things with half of the season left to play.

Everton face their big Merseyside rivals Liverpool and league leader Arsenal in their next two games which will be two difficult games and a hard start for any new manager looking to turn their fortunes around. The table is tight with most clubs below Crystal Palace worried about the thought of relegation, so it is all still to play for if they can get back on the right track quickly. #mmlove