'No ambition' - Neville Southall gives brutally honest verdict on Everton's demise and says who's to blame

Everton legend Neville Southall has refused to blame Sean Dyche and the current players after they recorded an unwanted club record.

The Toffees battled from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on Tuesday evening. It required an 88th-minute Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty to ensure that a fourth successive defeat was avoided.

Yet Everton have now gone 13 games without a Premier League victory - their worst-ever run in the competition and matching an undesirable 67-year record. The Blues are now four points above the relegation zone although they face the threat of being hit by a second points deduction for an alleged breach of profit of sustainability rules. Everton have already been docked six points. They also recently recorded financial losses of £89.1m in their latest accounts covering the 2022-23 season.

Dyche has come under pressure from some sections of supporters. But Southall believes that there have been problems at Goodison Park for the past decade. The ex-goalkeeper, arguably Everton's greatest-ever player, believes that ambitions were previously set too low and pointed the finger at current majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and the club's former late chairman Bill Kenwright.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Southall said: "I really don’t blame the manager staff or players. This situation they find themselves in goes back 10 years.

"When they said top 10 was OK. No ambition. We were sleepwalking into mediocrity. Whatever happens now is down to the chairman and owners we have had."

Everton return to action when they welcome face relegation rivals Burnley to Goodison Park on Saturday (15.00 GMT).