Everton manager Frank Lampard has suggested that he has little interest in taking note of his side's current position in the Premier League table.
During the opening 10-match period of the campaign, it has been perceived that the Toffees have enjoyed positive and negative starts at different stages.
After beginning with consecutive defeats, Everton put together a six-match unbeaten streak, but successive losses to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have halted their momentum.
With just two wins to their name, the Merseyside outfit occupy 14th position in the top-flight standings ahead of facing Newcastle United at St James' Park on Wednesday evening.
While the Magpies currently sit eight positions higher than Everton in the table, just five points separate the two clubs.
Despite the positives and negatives which can be taken from the opening two-and-a-half months to 2022-23, Lampard told reporters at his pre-match press conference that he preferred to focus on the development of his team at this stage of the campaign.
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The Englishman said: "There is a level of optimism around, there are shoots of improvement. That is the difficult thing about looking at the league at this time of year - it's so close. I wouldn't put too much on that at the minute. We need to have a longer-term view.
"We can only look at our own performance and try to push the table to the side. We spent enough time table-watching last season to last us a lifetime. It was desperate.
"If we can focus on what we control then hopefully we won't have that desperation in the future."
Everton spent the second half of last season attempting to avoid relegation to the Championship, a demotion which appeared more likely than not after a run of five defeats in six games.
However, a run of 14 points being collected from eight fixtures ultimately led to Everton retaining their long-standing status in the Premier League with just one match to spare.
At this stage of the season, Everton are two points above the bottom three, albeit with the joint-sixth best defensive record in the division.
Darren Plant
