Frank Lampard has warned Everton's squad about the dangers of complacency and insisted Sean Dyche's sacking by Burnley will not influence his team's destiny.
Much has happened since Everton were last in action, when beating Manchester United 1-0 at Goodison on April 9; Burnley, their nearest rivals in the relegation battle, have played twice, taken only one point and, most significantly, parted company with their influential manager.
The odds are firmly on Burnley falling into the Championship but Lampard has rallied against suggestions that the decision to remove Dyche last Friday was, in some ways, the Turf Moor club waving the white flag.