Now's the time for the likes of Dibling to step up

EVERTON have started a tough period of fixtures and how they deal with the coming weeks will be interesting to see.

- MICHAEL BALL

This last swathe of games looked difficult when the schedule came out, with trips to the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Bournemouth around home games against Arsenal and Newcastle United.

As it happens, Everton have done well. Losing the last two has been frustrating but perhaps that shows just how far the club has come if narrow defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea are the source of disappointment.

It has certainly been great to end those terrible winless runs at Old Trafford and the Vitality Stadium.

This next run of games is tough for a completely different reason.

While there are no easy games, trips to Burnley and Nottingham Forest and home games with Brentford and Wolves represent good opportunities to pick up wins and firmly establish the Blues in the top 10.