Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall believes his old club failed to act upon a "kick in the pants" and has called for a change of philosophy at Goodison Park.
Sean Dyche made no attempt to sugarcoat Everton’s latest relegation escape after victory against Bournemouth on the final day of the season on Sunday. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s second-half strike was the difference between the two sides at Goodison Park.
And even though the Blues’ victory sent both Leeds United and Leicester City down, there was a point during the afternoon where Everton were in the drop zone as the Foxes led West Ham United at the King Power.
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It is the second consecutive campaign that Everton have avoided the drop by the skin of their teeth after coming from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Goodison Park in their penultimate game of last season.
Survival afforded Blues boss Dyche the opportunity to speak with refreshing honesty about the problems he inherited, and Southall, speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, believes his old club failed to act upon the brutal warning they were sent last season.
"I don't think there's any need to celebrate failure," the Everton great said. "Last year we had a kick in the pants, and we didn't do anything about it.
"The league table never lies. We are where we are because of what we are. What Sean Dyche has done - he's done a great job with everybody else's players.
"He's done a great job but at some stage we're going to have to act and change the philosophy of the club. If the fans turn up expecting us to live up to the motto and we are just average, people are going to get fed up."
After the joyous celebration at the final whistle on Sunday afternoon, Everton’s supporters turned their attention elsewhere with chants of "sack the board" aimed at the club’s hierarchy, who have not attended a game since January citing safety concerns.
Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has signed an exclusivity agreement with American company MSP Sports Capital as he seeks investment to complete funding for the club’s new stadium. Moshiri has been in talks with MSP since January, when its Iranian-American chairman, Jahm Najafi, and CEO, Jeff Moorad, attended Everton’s home game with Southampton.
Miami-based 777 had been in talks with Moshiri in recent weeks over an investment deal, potentially acquiring a controlling interest in the club, but, as reported by the ECHO last week, the US company has now moved away from the club. And Southall believes change at the top is needed at his old club.
He said: "I look at the team and think it's not that great. Will there be money in the summer? I don't know. What I would like is some transparency from the board.
"There's not going to be major changes and we're going to be what we've been this season next season or just slightly improved.
"We might be a fitter version of what we've done. To win stuff you have to be quality and we're short on quality. Not low on effort but low on quality.
"We need massive change, we need a change at the top for sure. We need investment and investment doesn't always have to be money.
"It has to be a culture change in as much as you live up to the motto, you do things around the club. We seem to be really embarrassed about Goodison, about saying we want to win the league, about anything positive."
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