Premier League winner Chris Sutton described Everton’s attack as “shot to pieces” as he discussed the club’s plight with former Blue Leon Osman. The pair were full of concern over the state of play at Goodison Park, praising the defensive resilience of Sean Dyche's side but stressing that will only get them so far if they cannot pose a threat at the other end.

Osman, who often commentates on Everton matches, described his old club as “tough to watch”. And the former England international was clear that, after Dyche led the Blues to what would have been a 12th-placed finish without points deductions last season, he expected more than another survival fight this year.

Sutton, meanwhile, said: “He knows they are a team in forward areas that are shot to pieces. Dyche is going into games hoping the team scores rather than actually knowing they will score and that is a massive difference with that.”

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The former Blackburn Rovers striker described the 15 goals scored by Everton in the league this season as “measly” and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as having been a “disappointment”. Speaking on the BBC’s Monday Night Club, Sutton said: “He isn’t getting the service but he is a shadow of the player that he once was. The fact that he is not being picked when we know what a talent he can be is an issue.

“[Not being able to spend] has gone against Sean Dyche and I do sense a large part of the fanbase has turned against him. It is about Everton staying in the Premier League, the takeover has happened now, moving to the new stadium next season and moving on. I suspect Dyche will be lucky to be there next season because of the way things have turned.

“Can he spend a fortune in January? Probably not but the bottom line for Sean Dyche is that he is thinking about the best way of keeping Everton in the Premier League, so they are not going to become gung-ho or free-flowing and that is the difficulty.”

Dyche has come under increasing pressure after overseeing poor displays in the defeats to Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, with speculation over his future mounting.

For Osman, the lack of goals is also an issue. While he credited Dyche for the solidity that has led to seven clean sheets and valuable draws with Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in December, he said the Blues were too reliant on a handful of players.

He said: “Sean Dyche sets them up predictably but well with Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite winning man of the match. One of them will make an outstanding save or block and you are relying on the other one to score from a set-piece. It is down to them three every single game to try and do something.

“I do think there is a lack of quality in the squad but anyone will tell you, you should still be creating chances and scoring goals. It is tough to watch.

“There are probably decisions Sean Dyche is making for the good of the team, getting points and keeping clean sheets. Being a Premier League manager is not an easy job and managing Everton over the last six or seven seasons hasn’t been easy.

“Credit to him for what he has done for the last two seasons but with the eight-point deduction last season and being quite safe, this season I expect us to not be wrestling against relegation again. Maybe, come the end of the season, Dyche gets to see out his contract and Everton are safe but at the moment we are making sure we are keeping clean sheets sometimes at the detriment of creating goals.”