Everton's senior squad - minus those involved in World Cup duty - returned to Finch Farm on Friday as training resumed ahead of the Premier League's return.
It is now just over a fortnight until the Blues host Wolverhampton Wanderers in a clash that will be pivotal to setting the tone for the first few weeks after the break. By then, Everton would have spent Christmas Day - and the preceding six weeks - just one place and one point above the relegation zone. Frank Lampard would have spent the same period plotting a pathway up the table.
The January transfer window will be important to the club and Lampard is hopeful of landing two attacking targets. But that game with Wolves, and the following fixtures against Manchester City and Brighton, will come before any real progress can be made. With that in mind, here are a few things Lampard and his staff will have to consider as the preparations for that triple-header gather momentum.
