(Reuters) – Everton are awaiting a decision on their appeal against a 10-point deduction, with defender James Tarkowski saying the team is focused on their on-field performance as they strive to move away from the Premier League relegation zone. The penalty was imposed on Everton in November due to financial irregularities in the 2020-21 season, and the club appealed the decision in December.
After the points deduction, Everton won four consecutive matches but have since struggled, going eight league games without a victory and finding themselves back in the relegation battle.
When asked if the potential return of the points was being discussed in the dressing room, Tarkowski told Sky Sports after Monday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace: “I don’t think we try and pre-empt it too much. No one really knows what’s going to happen as we can’t be saying we’re going to get some points back, just focusing on points we’ve got at the moment and if we do get some points back, time will tell…”
The draw against Palace lifted Everton out of the bottom three, but they are still only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Tarkowski mentioned that having the 10 points returned would provide them with much-needed relief.
“It’s a difficult run but if you put them 10 points we’ve been taken off back on board we’d be in a healthier position and we just focus on the next game and hopefully a win is on the way,” he added.
Everton’s next match is against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
