Neal Maupay has slammed the Everton fans who abused him and his teammates as they boarded a train on the way back to Merseyside following Saturday’s 4-0 defeat against Tottenham.
Sean Dyche’s side have endured a miserable start to the new campaign and are rooted to the bottom of the table having also been hammered 3-0 by Brighton at home on the opening day.
After overcoming a points deduction last term to comfortably stave off relegation, it had been hoped that Everton would resolve their ownership issues over the summer and build on the momentum they built during the second half of last season.
Instead, it has been another tumultuous close season for Dyche, compounded by the sale of key midfielder Amadou Onana to Aston Villa.
Although the club have so far resisted the temptation to cash in on defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who is wanted by Manchester United, Everton’s resolve is likely to be tested during the closing stages of the transfer window.
Chaos and uncertainty off the pitch is now being mirrored on it, highlighted by last weekend’s emphatic defeat against a rampant Spurs.
Anger turned to outright abuse at Euston on Saturday evening with players branded ‘rats’ by supporters who fear another season battling to beat the drop is already inevitable.
Maupay, whose Everton career appeared to be over having been farmed out to Brentford on loan a year ago, was one of those players who bore the brunt of the abuse.
Reacting to a video posted on X, the striker said: ‘Imagine another job where it’s normalised to get abuse like this.
‘Hanging around at a train station to scream at men who are trying their best!’
Back-to-back defeats at the start of the season for the third straight year does mean Everton are already slipping towards full crisis-club mode.
‘It’s a strange situation, here,’ said Dyche. ‘We kind of build something, and then we have to go down the hill and build it again. What about playing when it’s 0-0?
‘We’ve done well when the challenges have come our way. We’ve done great. So I reminded them of that afterwards. Reminded them that this is not our first rodeo.
‘We get written off and then we start changing the storyline again. It’s a never-ending challenge at Everton.’