Everton news: Opinion – Mike Hughes on the final four games

There will be plenty of pre-match pomp and circumstance at Goodison on Saturday, prior to Everton’s Premier League match with already relegated Ipswich Town.

There are only two games left at the famous old stadium and given that every ticket for their final home match of the campaign against Southampton has long since sold out, for some Blues fans this might be their last chance to soak up the atmosphere at the place where they have worshipped for all their Evertonian lives.

The countdown to ‘Goodbye to Goodison’ is picking up pace and, in all honesty, for most of the supporters there is not much else at stake.

For David Moyes, his staff and his players, the picture is very different.

The Blues boss has done an unbelievable job since returning as manager. Premier League football for next season, their first at their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, was guaranteed with room to spare. But another big task awaits him. Making sure he has a squad that can be competitive next season will not be easy.

His record in the transfer market shows he has an eye for talent but the type of players he wants will likely be targeted by other clubs. He will have to use all his managerial know-how to paint a picture of a promising future and brave new world at Everton.

But overhauling the current squad and bringing in the players with the pace, power and personality to take Everton to the next level will be quite a task. There are plenty in the current squad that he will wish to keep and some of those will be wanted by other clubs.

There are also some that will not be part of future plans and maybe it is still make-your-mind-up time for some of them. The Friedkin Group will provide a much bigger transfer chest than Everton have had for years but that will not be big enough to transform this squad to Moyes’ requirements in one, or maybe even two transfer windows.

The players in that final group will know who they are. Perhaps they can still have a big say in shaping their own futures.

Coasting towards season’s end is not an option for Moyes – it never has been.

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