While Liverpool’s shock defeat to League Two side Northampton may have gone some way to lighten the mood for Everton fans, it has done little to cover up what has been another disappointing start to the season for David Moyes’ men.

The Toffees have had their usual slow beginning of a season and their Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Brentford means that out of the seven games Everton have played this season they have just one win to their name, which its self came against League One Huddersfield Town.

It’s certainly not the start that Moyes would have invisaged after a summer which saw him hold on to his better players amid reported interest from Premier League rivals. But it is Everton’s current form in the Premier League which is now causing some great concern on Merseyside.

Everton captain Phil Neville admits that his side will have to go back to basics to dig themselves out of their early season rot. He told BBC Radio Merseyside: “It’s not a happy place at the moment; we felt we really climbed a mountain with our performances last season.

“Let’s forget last season as we’re second from bottom. We’ve started the season bad again and we need to give ourselves a kick up the backside very quickly. Let’s play winning football again and get back to basics.

Neville is quite right in thinking that Everton should not dwell on last season but they shouldn’t forget it. If anything I think they should be using it as motivation. They proved they can still achieve an impressive finish after a slow start campaign last year, and I see no reason why they can’t do it again.

But I don’t want to look over the fact that Everton should have had a better start than they have. While their extraordinary comeback against Manchester United was a high, the rest of their games have been notable for the underperforming Blues.

I think some Everton fans might have seen this as a year to kick on and push in to the higher reaches of the league, however once again a slow start might put pay to that. A positive result at Fulham on Saturday could be vital to Everton improving on their 8th place finish last year.