Roberto Martinez must rebuild his Premier League reputation
The talent is undoubtedly there, though whether Martinez will sanction the tweak that keeps his side on the front foot by encouraging a 30-yard forward pass as opposed to a five-yard one remains to be seen.
John Terry used to regard Goodison Park as his least favourite away ground because Everton were horrible to play against: uncompromising, but at the same time capable of clicking through the gears, and backed by a crowd that gave their heroes an edge.
In many respects the reverse is now true.
“We hit rock bottom with our result at Stoke,” said Martinez, of the 2-0 reverse in their last game. “It’s not a place to fear any more in the league.
“We have 30 points to play for. So I think it’s a fresh start and a new league within a league.”
Across Stanley Park at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers has strengthened his standing, both inside the dressing room and the boardroom, by managing the team out of a worrying slump and managing personalities.
Martinez has had injuries and misfortune, but the lingering impression is that he has not done enough to force change and so doubts as to whether last season was the blip have become inflamed and tensions behind the scenes have festered.
Everton have always denied Sylvain Distin was effectively suspended for standing up to the manager and assistant Graeme Jones back at the start of October, but, equally, the rumours refuse to go away. A popular member of the squad being ostracised for speaking his mind represents a mistake which undermines.
At 37, the likelihood is Distin would have left Everton anyway this summer when his contract expires. It is unclear as the club looks to extricate itself from the current mess who, and how many, will follow.
Martinez must make sure he is not one of them.