Everton have been hit by a bus - and might be ran over by it

Everton will submit an appeal against the immediate 10-point deduction imposed on them earlier this month, but that deduction might not be the only one against the Blues from Merseyside. The club have until the deadline of 1 December to lodge their appeal, but their manager, Sean Dyche, has already spoken about the threat of further penalties.

Defiant Toffees! Harrison vows to drag Everton out of the bottom three despite the 10-point deduction

A report on Thursday suggested that if a club is found to have violated spending regulations in their upcoming financial records, measures will be taken swiftly by the end of May. These changes aim to expedite the process, potentially leading to further point deductions for Everton during this season if they are found to have breached financial rules in their next set of accounts.

"Certainly, I haven't been told anything other than what's happened so far. I think we were stunned, and I think football was stunned by the outcome of the 10 points, but who knows what comes next, not just for ourselves but for many others, I would imagine, because of the way it sounds with the noise. The way it's sounding from the noise out there is that it's not just about us but there will be others looked at possibly over time, we'll have to wait and see. The last situation recently stunned everyone, including myself, so who knows what comes next? We've just got to be ready for what comes next, the best we can."

Nothing has been decided yet, but the old saying says where there's smoke, there's fire. Dyche has the thankless task of keeping his players level-headed.

"You definitely can't go on ifs, buts and maybes. The recent facts of what's happened are facts now, so I think we park that and move forward. We're not going to start worrying about ifs, buts and maybes. This is going to be more about the factual side of what's gone on so far. The 10 points are currently not there, so therefore, we've got to see through the rest of it and crack on."

In times of uncertainty, Dyche has no choice but to continue to work with the team and try to ignore everything, not regarding the game itself.

"The biggest thing for me is that it doesn't change the fact of the matter. When I got here, we had to win more games, that was quite obvious, and that doesn't change regardless of all the noise, all the ups and downs of what goes on. I've spoken to the players about that to remind them. We've agreed that is the focus, it has to be the focus. It always was and always will be. We've got to win games, and that's just been enhanced because of the 10 points that have disappeared."