On the evening Everton hosted West Ham United back in November, Sam Allardyce had spent his afternoon crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s on his contract.

Where a six-month deal had initially been proposed he had succeeded in stretching those terms to 18 months which, it is understood, included a lucrative £2 million bonus written into the minutiae to be triggered should relegation be staved off.

Satisfied with his lot, he duly retired to the directors’ box to watch Everton, 16th at kick-off, run riot under the interim stewardship of David Unsworth, springing into mid-table in the process. Allardyce had hit the jackpot and yet within a few months he would be left, in many ways, feeling bankrupt.

Back then desperation had gripped Everton’s