Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has admitted that the fear of relegation haunts his every waking hour.
The Mali international was in the Watford team that dropped out of the Premier League in 2020 and has delivered a promise to fight to the bitter end to ensure the Merseysiders don’t suffer the same fate.
Sean Dyche’s men are in the bottom three and travel to fellow strugglers Leicester on Monday knowing that another defeat would be devastating to their hopes of staying in the top-flight for a 70th year.
Next season will also be their final bow at Goodison Park after 131 years before they move into a new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
And Doucoure said: “The situation is always on my mind every single day. This is what we do for our life and we know that Everton is massive for everyone.
“It is so important for the fans and also for the people who work for the club. We don't want to be the players who take this club down. It is all up to us.
“Every game is very important at the moment. It's not only a fight against Leicester. But on Monday we have to be on it. It's a big game against a direct opponent also trying to stay in the league. We really have to win this game.”
It is just over a year since Everton climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 victory at the King Power Stadium. And the Toffees then secured survival on a memorable night at Goodison when they came from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season.
Everton are in even deeper trouble this time after winning just one of their last 10 games. And the fact that winger Dwight McNeil is their highest Premier League scorer with just five goals illustrates where their problems lie. Thousands of fans walked out of Goodison during the 4-1 drubbing by Newcastle on Thursday night.
But Doucoure said: “We have to forget that game quickly because it was a big disappointment for us. There is still belief. Confidence can be low, but we are fighting for our lives.
“We have to be honest and not feel sorry for ourselves. When you concede the amount of goals we have it is a problem when you don’t score yourself. It was a massive game against Leicester last year - and this is going to be another one.”
Everton also have to face Brighton, Manchester City and Wolves before Bournemouth visit Goodison on the final day of the season.
And Doucoure added: “To be honest, I don't know how many wins we will need because other teams around us will also win some games. Maybe this season, the last game is going to be the game where we can be safe.
“The fans are big for us and need them more than ever. They are even more important than they were last year because this is a very difficult situation.”
