Pundit Paul Merson believes a point is not good enough for Everton when they take on Newcastle United on Thursday night.
The Toffees find themselves out of the relegation zone on goal difference, level on points with 18th-place Watford. Frank Lampard's side have three games in hand on the Hornets but are running out of games to open up a gap between themselves and the rest of the bottom of the table Premier League clubs.
The fixture at Goodison Park midweek is one of their last against sides in and around the relegation battle and Merson is under the impression that Everton must win as the season draws to a close.
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“Everton host Newcastle on Thursday and that’s going to be a hard game. I was at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and Newcastle are better than I thought," Merson said in his Sky Sports column.
“They parked the bus but they parked it in a way where they did it very well. Chelsea never looked like winning the game.
“Everton have got to go and win that game now – a draw’s no good. They’ve had some injuries in key places.
“They need Dominic Calvert-Lewin back firing. But they’re sort of in that situation where it’s Everton, never been relegated, so they go out and try to play entertaining, attacking football.
“Frank Lampard, when he was at Chelsea, always tried to play on the front foot and have a go.
“I don’t know if Everton think they’re too good just to go and get a point somewhere, because points mount up. At the moment they’re chasing their tails.
“Wolves at home wasn’t a good day at the office, so just get a point – you’ve got to start a run somewhere.”
Everton were defeated 1-0 by Wolves on Sunday, making it four defeats in a row in the league.
