Tony Cottee believes Everton supporters will give David Moyes time with his team building, but he understands the fans' frustration following the slump at the end of last season.
Moyes, who steered the Blues to nine top-eight finishes including their highest-ever Premier League position of fourth during his first spell at Goodison Park, had his team just three points off a Champions League qualification spot following their 3-0 victory over Chelsea on March 21.
However, failure to win any of their last seven matches saw them plummet to end up 13th in the table for the second straight year. When breaking his silence in his first formal interview since pre-season began, speaking to Vinny O'Connor of Sky Sports, the Glaswegian gaffer admitted he felt the team still "need to do an awful lot more" in the transfer market. Chief executive Angus Kinnear subsequently told Giulia Bould of BBC Radio Merseyside: "I think the squad's in a really good place."
Cottee's view on fan frustration
Cottee, who netted 99 goals for Everton in 241 appearances following his then club record £2.2million transfer from West Ham United in August 1988, reckons that fanbases tend to show less patience in general these days. He believes beleaguered Blues having to endure the longest silverware drought in their history plays a significant part in their current disappointment.
The 61-year-old told the ECHO: "I think supporters get frustrated. Nowadays, everyone wants success."
"I'm trying to put myself in the shoes of an Evertonian. It's a long, long time ago since 1995."
"That's the problem. We're 31 years down the line."
"It's the longest that Everton have gone without a major trophy in their entire history. So, that's the frustration."
"It's not the fans saying that we don't think David Moyes is the right man. It's the fans saying: We're frustrated, we want to win something, we want to be in Europe, we want to get to a cup final."
Moyes' track record
Cottee added: "It's all about taking the next step. I think the thing with Moyesy, and he proved it first time around at Everton, and he certainly proved it at West Ham by winning the Conference League, is while it's not overnight success, it's a slow build and steady progress."
"He has to find all the pieces to the puzzle and get the right players in the key positions and then I think we'll see Everton do well. You've just got to win that cup or get into Europe, and the fans will settle down."
Cottee, who was speaking courtesy of Football Betting, added: "It's the frustration and I really, really get it. I'd only just left the club earlier that season, but 1995 is a long time ago. Everton need to win something."
"Quite simply it's not good enough for Everton Football Club and the standards that previous players and teams had reached. If you're a 35-year-old Evertonian or younger, you haven't seen anything."
Historical parallels and hope
Cottee drew parallels with other clubs' droughts: "West Ham had it. Going 43 years without winning anything – I was lucky, I saw the one before, but there were fans who were almost 50 years of age who had never seen their club win anything."
"Everton are going that way and the longer it goes, the harder it gets. Before they won their first Premier League, Manchester United hadn't won the league for God knows how long and Liverpool didn't win the league for 30 years."
"I think every supporter appreciates what David Moyes has done for that football club, not just the first time but the second time as well. Providing it's not a disastrous start to the season, I think they'll give him time."
"Hopefully Everton can have a really good year. They weren't far away last season."
"They need to make Hill Dickinson Stadium a fortress and start winning those home games again. Then they can give it a real charge and have a go again."
