Everton manager Frank Lampard insists their season does not rest on their trip to Tottenham but he does want to turn around their woeful away record.
The Toffees have taken just six points on their travels this season and have not won on the road since the 2-0 victory over Brighton in August, with their last point outside Goodison Park being the draw at Chelsea in mid-December.
Spurs have won seven of 12 matches on home soil and while Lampard does not underestimate their task he knows improvements have to be made.
“Tottenham is a difficult match away from home. We haven’t been great away from home all season,” he said.
“Our season doesn’t rest on Tottenham on Monday night but we have to work hard to prepare to try to get results in this patch of the season, which will be crucial for us.
“It is important to remain calm and consistent and remain focused on the work and the players have done that and I hope we see the benefits.”
Lampard said the only way to improve their form – they could be in the bottom three by Monday – was purely hard work on the training ground.
However, having only been in post for just over a month he does not think there has been an enough time to make significant changes.
“I certainly don’t have a magic wand,” he added.
“This is football and when you come in mid-season there are some issues which just take work and sometimes they take time and those numbers are pretty clear.
“It’s not what we want (their poor away record). Against Newcastle (Lampard’s first away fixture) there were a lot of circumstances which went against us in the game, we lost two big players to injury in my second game.
“Southampton (a 2-0 defeat) we didn’t play well, it’s the only game since I’ve been here I could say there were so many things I didn’t like in the game and we need to improve.
“It is my responsibility to try to solve them but it will be a work in progress because this is the Premier League and things don’t fix themselves, they take some time.”
The former Chelsea boss believes his methods are starting to have an effect, though.
“Things that were important to me and the staff have hit home with the players,” he said.
“They are listening to the message and understanding and working with us and trying to improve in different areas and we have seen them.
“Some you gauge with stats, some with your eye. I feel like we’re certainly moving in the right direction. We need to make sure the points reflect that.”
