Former Everton boss Sam Allardyce has questioned whether the players can hold their nerve in the relegation battle.
The Toffees are staring the grim prospect of relegation directly in the face this season, with Sunday's 2-0 defeat away at neighbours Liverpool leaving them two points adrift of safety.
Since its creation in 1992, Everton have never suffered relegation from the Premier League, meaning their current predicament is alien to the club.
And it's for that exact reason that Allardyce is hoping "the fear doesn't take over" at Goodison Park.
"I can't believe it, I don't think anybody can," he said about his former side's decline on talkSPORT.
"Of course the years have rolled by since I were there and unfortunately it seems to have got worse and not got better.
"I think the constant change of managers [is to blame] and of course in the end players are the ultimate problem for not delivering on the pitch as well as everyone expected for the money that's been spent on them.
"It's in a real position now where you hope the fear doesn't take over and it causes Everton to go down, because when they're in this position, irrespective of how good a player they might be, if the fear takes over and gets to you, particularly players that haven't been in that position before or sometimes the manager, you can crack under that pressure.
"I think it's massive the next six games or so to try and get out of trouble and when they play their game in hand, that will be a big message on what they do when they get their game in hand, because it will take them past Burnley again and give them a little bit of breathing space, which may be enough."
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