Frank Lampard will be using the international break to build a masterplan that can ensure Everton's Premier League status does not come to an end in May.
The morale-boosting injury time win against Newcastle United was soon forgotten after Crystal Palace brought the Blues back down to earth with a damming 4-0 thrashing in the FA Cup.
With the cup dream now dead in the water, Everton now have 11 games left to save their season. Here's a round-up of the latest Goodison headlines from around the national media.
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Townsend could be done with Blues
Andros Townsend's Everton career could be over after the winger suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against former club Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Writing in the Daily Mirror , Dave Maddock said: "He (Townsend) is facing the prospect of his Everton career being effectively finished, as he fights to return from an injury which often takes nine to 12 months to recover from. Townsend's contract is up next summer, which means that even if he returned from the devastating injury sooner than expected, there would be not much of next season left to get back to full fitness.
"It is a tough blow for the winger, who was an instant success at Goodison after joined on a free transfer last summer but will be 31 before the start of next season."
Nathan Patterson happy with 'change of scenery'
Everton right-back Nathan Patterson is on international duty with Scotland this week, despite barely featuring for Everton since his January move from Rangers.
Patterson has played only once for the Blues' first team since joining the club - against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup - but that didn't stop him being included in Steve Clarke's squad.
Keith Jackson writes in the Daily Record : "Were it not for the fact he’s become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, Nathan Patterson might feel like the guy who found a fiver in the street and lost a tenner out his pocket while bending down to pick it up. Starved of first-team football as a rising star at Rangers for too long, Patterson grabbed the bull by the horns and made a life-changing £16million move to Everton in January in the belief it would catapult his career to a whole new stratosphere.
"Instead, he’s spent these last three months parked on a bench at Goodison and being dragged into a survival fight, without being trusted to do a thing about it by a new manager who is beginning to resemble a rabbit caught in the headlights of onrushing relegation from the Premier League. Were it not for all the added zeroes on his bank statement, Patterson might have concluded by now this move has been an unmitigated disaster, especially as it also threatens to stall his previously blistering progress as a Scotland international."
Scotland manager Clarke said: “He’s happy to be here. Let’s put it that way! It’s a change of scenery for him after a tough time for him at Everton.”
Why Donny van de Beek struggled at United
The Metro has reported Jaap Stam explaining why he thinks Everton midfielder Donny van de Beek could not hold down a first team place at Manchester United, before he completed a loan move to Goodison Park in January. The former Ajax player only managed four starts at United despite arriving as a new singing in the summer.
"I think for Donny, he didn’t get enough chances to show himself, because it’s not only about getting one game or a couple of minutes," Stam told bettingexpert.
"No, you need several games and I’m not saying that the coach is to blame, because there’s a lot of tension on the games, there’s a lot of tension on the coaches. Of course I can understand that a coach is not saying 'yeah, but I cannot give him a couple of games to see how he does' and then risking, if he’s not working out, that we might lose more games. I can understand that in a way.
"But I can also understand that you need to trust your players, you need to give confidence to players. Sometimes, of course, you need to give them a little bit more extra time to show themselves in what they can do and also maybe play a little bit more attacking minded. For some reason the coaches were not picking him. Maybe he’s too attacking-minded. He wants to go forward. The coaches have favoured two holding midfield players."
Since joined Everton, Van de Beek has made six appearances for the Blues.
