Belief in the Everton project could well be tested this week but this is a time for patience.
The performance and result against Manchester United was frustrating and disappointing and the reality is the Blues now face two tough games in a matter of days. Away matches at Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are rarely easy. They become even more challenging when the trips are days apart and one side is in the Champions League and the other is starting to tick after tens of millions of pound of new investment.
It is possible for Everton to lose both games and still be in a good place. This is not giving the side a free pass but an acceptance of where the club currently is and where each opponent is in its respective journey. Spurs and Newcastle are both further ahead and Everton will enter each game as the underdog. That does not mean the Blues cannot find another boost on the road, but it does mean that, short of disastrous performances, no-one should panic if things don't quite go to plan.
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This Everton side is a long way from the one that folded so miserably on the last trip to Spurs. That was a game that provided Frank Lampard with some bitter truths and, for me, is up there among the most important matches of his time in the Goodison Park hotseat so far. It was not just the ease with which Spurs tore through Everton that March night, it was the way the side crumpled in the face of adversity. I think it was a performance so bad that Lampard realised Everton were in a fight for Premier League survival and did not have the resources to play their way out of it. It was the birth of the pragmatism that saved Everton, even if games such as the defeat at Anfield and the draw to Watford highlighted the squad's limitations even when being cautious.
Ultimately, Everton did survive and Lampard has now had a chance to begin his overhaul. It remains early in that process though. His hands were tied for much of the summer. The reunion with Richarlison will be a crude reminder of this, with the financial concerns that overshadowed the club's initial business providing the backdrop for the departure of a player who was so vital to the survival efforts.
Everton had yet to recover from his exit when they played Minnesota United in late July, the game in which, with the Crystal Palace comeback and the 5-0 defeat to Spurs, I place among the three most pivotal games of Lampard's reign. That night in North America was the first time Lampard made a serious attempt to return to a back four since the scars picked up in those defeats in the capital to Spurs and then West Ham United. But once again reality struck. The MLS side exploited Everton out wide, beat them 4-0 and left Lampard raising the spectre of the relegation battle and the desperate need for improvements to his squad. It was a game in which it appeared to hit home that the squad of last season would not automatically improve through having a summer break and being removed from the toxicity of that struggle.
Since the squad returned from the US, Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell have been backed. They were given the opportunity to make moves in the transfer market and, while there may not have been room for profligacy, they have been savvy in their signings. The improvement has been clear. Six games unbeaten in the Premier League and back-to-back wins were the icing on the cake of a start in which it was clear progress was being made. Against those results the defeat to Manchester United was disappointing, the first half performance in particular a concern - at least after Alex Iwobi's wonderful goal. But it has to be remembered this is a side in transition - there is a cultural shift in terms of style and personnel underway and there will be teething problems.
Five of the eight summer signings arrived after the start of the season and Everton have suffered another rotten run of injuries. Lampard has gambled on moving to the back four he craved in the summer and it has largely worked. There will be growing pains - both goals last Sunday and the one conceded against Southampton came from mistakes in the middle of the pitch. This is, to some extent, to be expected. As the coaching team try to implement a more progressive playing style the midfield will see more of the ball in dangerous situations. When they lose it they may well be punished and the players - those passing, receiving and with the responsibility to provide an outlet - all have to learn quickly. But while they attempt to do so, supporters can at least take some solace from the side being more resilient. Last season, the goal conceded at Southampton could have led to a capitulation. This season it led to a comeback. Everton should be competitive at Spurs and Newcastle, but the benchmark for this week should be the performances rather than points gained or lost.
The positivity and optimism that built either side of the international break took a blow against Manchester United. It may take further blows on Saturday and Wednesday. Yet it must be remembered where Everton started from - they were in a relegation scrap for a reason. Speaking at Finch Farm on Thursday, Lampard said: "From us as a club at Everton, where we are at the moment, we can have a good season with possibly losing more games than we win." That should not be the aim, and Everton supporters have every right to be ambitious. But the road to a better future will be long and bumpy, so there will be times for patience. This week may end up being one of them. If it is, don't panic.
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