As Goodison Park began to fill ahead of Everton’s game with Leicester City two topics dominated conversation and neither of them were of the home side facing a relegation battle.
There was the emotion of heading to a late kick-off at the Grand Old Lady in the knowledge that such occasions were running out. And there was the excitement in knowing a win would launch Everton into the top half of the table. After the emphatic victory over Crystal Palace and the battling draw at Fulham, that felt possible. Especially under the lights in L4.
Seven days, three games and just 180 minutes of Premier League action later, Everton supporters knew their Christmas Day fate - that they would spend the next six weeks, including December 25, just one place and one point above the bottom three.
