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Tony Cottee has got plenty of magical memories in the FA Cup but ultimately football’s oldest competition was cruel to him.

Two of the Londoner’s 99 goals for Everton came in the famous 4-4 draw with Liverpool in a fifth-round replay in 1991 after coming on as a late substitute.

The game proved to be the last of Kenny Dalglish’s first spell as Reds manager as he quit before the Blues won the second replay 1-0.

But after booking a quarter-final spot against Cottee’s former club West Ham United, Howard Kendall’s side were beaten 2-1 by the Second Division outfit.

Cottee did reach Wembley that season in the Zenith Data Systems Cup, having netted in every round of the competition en route to the Twin Towers – eight goals in all including four in one match against Sunderland – but the Blues suffered a painful 4-1 defeat after extra time to Crystal Palace in the final.

It was the third of a hat-trick of Wembley heartbreaks Cottee suffered at Everton having lost in the final of the same competition when it was the Simod Cup and the FA Cup final both in 1989.

Despite spending over six years at Goodison Park between 1988-1994, Cottee didn’t win any silverware with the Blues and returned to the Hammers early in 1994/95 – the season Everton last won the FA Cup – their most recent major honour to date.

Cottee’s Wembley woes continued as he lost the 1999 League Cup final with Leicester to Tottenham before he finally tasted success in the final of the same competition in 2000, defeating Tranmere 2-1 with the Foxes in the year the old stadium was demolished.

Cottee will be back at Goodison on Tuesday night to watch two of his former clubs lock horns and as someone who preyed on defensive frailties, he believes that continued problems at the back have been Everton’s downfall so far this season.

The all-Premier League third-round FA Cup clash has taken on even more significance for the hosts with Roberto Martinez’s men going into the match on the back of four consecutive defeats.

Cottee said: “Defensively there have been problems all season long.

“I think John Stones being injured for long periods has been a big blow.

“Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz have both been in and out so it’s all been a bit disjointed.

“Having an unsettled back four is always problematic and it’s also probably attributed to Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines not having the kind of influential seasons like they had last year.

“We all know that the best part of their games is going forward but when the team are finding themselves exposed at the back, they’re getting caught and teams are choosing to double up on them.

“Losing Tim Howard to injury on Boxing Day was also a massive setback. You don’t really want to be going into a period like this without your number one goalkeeper.”

Tuesday’s tie offers the Blues a distraction from a faltering Premier League campaign that over halfway through the season currently sees them just four points above the relegation zone after their dramatic decline in fortunes over the festive period.

Martinez’s experiment of trying a three-man defence system at Hull City on New Year’s Day went horribly wrong with auxiliary centre-back Gareth Barry cruelly exposed for pace and Cottee admits the ongoing rearguard problems remain a major headache for the Catalan.

He said: “There’s no getting away from it, results have been disappointing so far this season.

“As a manager, when you’re struggling you often try altering stuff and trying different systems. The three at the back was something Roberto used at Wigan but I’m not sure how well-suited it is for Everton.

“They’re conceding too many goals and that side of the game is a problem that they need to solve.

“Unfortunately it might just be that this ends up being a season where it just doesn’t happen for Everton in the league so that makes the cups even more important.”

Cottee added: “The big plus point this season has been how well Everton have done in the Europa League and with qualifying early it gave them a chance to use the youngsters, which is great for the future.

“The FA Cup has always been special for the club and I expect both Everton and West Ham to take the game seriously and name strong teams.

“While Everton have had a few defensive problems, ultimately they’ve got enough good players up front – they’ll be fine.”

One such frontman is Romelu Lukaku who made his switch to the Blues a permanent one in the summer for £28million from Chelsea.

As a former club record signing himself, Cottee knows just what kind of scrutiny the big Belgian is under to perform.

He said: “The big price tag puts pressure on you and everyone expects big things from you but you also put pressure on yourself.

“Having watched Rom a few times this season it’s almost like he’s trying too hard at times to impress.

“Maybe he’s trying to help out the team but the bottom line is that as a striker you’re judged on your goals and I’d like to see him playing straight down the middle more often.”