Everton boss Frank Lampard is under pressure following a 4-1 home humbling at the hands of Brighton, with the Toffees facing another relegation dogfight in the Premier League.

After narrowly missing out on relegation to the Championship last term, Everton fans have once again been left fearing the worst with the Merseyside club currently sat just one point above the drop zone in 16th place in the Premier League.

Everton's recent plight has seen them come in to Evens to be relegated this season.

Naturally the pressure has began to ramp up on manager Frank Lampard, with the Toffees now on a run of seven competitive matches without a win.

We take a look at some of the major problems facing Everton in the Premier League...

Lampard on the brink?

Having lost 19 of his 36 Premier League matches as Everton manager, patience afforded to Frank Lampard appears to be wearing thin amongst the club's fanbase as the team continue to flounder around the relegation zone.

Lampard has demonstrably struggled to stamp any meaningful identity upon this Everton side, who have won just three of their 18 league matches this term.

Still a relatively inexperienced manager, Lampard appears to be struggling with the gruelling demands of the Premier League when faced against some of the world's most gifted footballers and sharpest coaches.

No doubt buoyed by a shock 1-1 draw at the Eithad against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Everton returned to their previous brittle selves in a shocking 4-1 defeat to Brighton at Goodison Park which is likely to have acted as the straw that broke the camel's back for many of the club's supporters.

With a new stadium just around the corner, due to open the season after next, going down to the Championship would represent an utter travesty for Everton, who are one of just six teams in Premier League history to have never been relegated.

The club's board will be all too mindful of this, and thus time may be running out for Lampard in the managerial hotseat should he fail to arrest the team's dire form urgently.

Home to basement-dwellers Southampton in their next Premier League match, Lampard is a man in desperate need of a win. The Blues are currently 6/5 to secure victory in this match.

Lack of firepower

Moving from the dugout to the pitch, it's apparent that much of Everton's struggles in the Premier League this season have stemmed from a lack of attacking firepower.

Having registered just 14 goals in their opening 18 Premier League outings, Everton are the fourth lowest scorers in the division behind three teams situated below them in the table - West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves.

This stands in contrast to Everton's defensive record, which up until the 4-1 defeat to Brighton appeared respectable, with their tally of 20 goals conceded at that point less than neighbours Liverpool on 22.

Indeed Everton's squad can be acknowledged to be laden with a considerable level of Premier League quality in defensive areas. 

In Jordan Pickford they are guarded by England's number one, with fellow England caps James Tarkowski, Conor Coady and Ben Godfrey strong options at centre-back. 

As for Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson, the Blues have two youthful and tenacious players in the full-back positions who will only get better. 

It's up front where the Blues look light, with star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin having suffered from perennial injury troubles across the past two campaigns. 

The fact wideman Demarai Gray is the team's top goalscorer in all competitions on five goals, with Anthony Gordon the only other player in the squad to have registered three or more, underlines the team's struggles in front of goal.

Seemingly signed as Calvert-Lewin's backup, Neal Maupay has found the net just once following his switch from Brighton last summer. 

It's clear attacking reinforcements are needed in January, and whether or not quality additions arrive in this area of the pitch may just determine Everton's Premier League fate in this campaign.

Should they acquire some quality forward players in the January window, the landscape may just appear markedly different for the Toffees as the Premier League season rolls on. 

With just eight points separating Crystal Palace and Southampton in 11th and 18th place respectively, a run of victories for any side could see them make a quick rise up the table.

Everton are currently 8/11 To Not Be Relegated, and 25/1 to Finish in the Top Half.

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Deeper problems?

As is the case at every football club, the most important decisions are the ones taken off the field. 

As far as Everton are concerned, the club's ownership and board hold accountability for seasons of mismanagement which have clearly contributed to the team's demise in recent years. 

Consistently poor recruitment has seen Everton spend over half a billion on transfers since 2016, and have very little to show for it in terms of quality on the pitch.

Poor signing after poor signing, for sizeable transfer fees and inflated wages, has seen the Toffees struggle to build a sense of continuity within the playing staff.

Alongside ill-advised transfers - overseen by unsuccessful directors of football Steve Walsh and Marcel Brands who arrived at the club with lofty reputation - have been a number of questionable managerial appointments.

With the exception of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought a sense of class and respectability back to Goodison during a relatively short tenure, Everton have employed a number of ineffective managers. 

The likes of Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva and Rafa Benitez have all struggled to make a lasting impact at the Merseyside club in recent times.

To this regard, Frank Lampard's current status as Everton manager is unlikely to be the only position in which the club's dissenting supporters would like to see change enacted.

James Wilson

• Everton F.C.
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