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Everton need to make six or seven signings this summer.

And one or two of those need to be marquee recruits - the type of acquisitions to tell people that the Blues mean business.

The aim for next season is for Everton to be strong enough to mount a challenge for the top four whilst also being able to fight on all fronts, at home and abroad.

Manchester United and Manchester City have fallen below what was expected of them and they are ready to make big plays in the transfer market.

Sure, we may be able to take advantage of that by taking some players off their hands, but we also want to go to the next level and so need to make statements of our own.

Quality signings are essential, Ronald Koeman is not the sort of man to buy for the sake of it, and he knows that a Thursday-Sunday slog will require greater strength in depth than we have at present.

Everton have to target the winning of a trophy next season and so must assemble a squad capable of delivering that, as well as one able to progress in the league.

Early business is also essential, this is not the summer for last minute deals on deadline day.

Everton look as though they will have to return early this pre-season due to an early start for the Europa League qualifiers and so the new signings need to be given as much time to bed in.

A one-off?

I just about dozed off during the West Ham game.

The level of performances under Ronald Koeman have, mostly, been high and so expectations risen.

Unfortunately, the team will not reach those levels every week, they just won’t.

Saturday’s match at the London Stadium was a case of that and we have to put it down as a one-off, if you like, and the less said about it the better.

The positive is that we got a point out of it; we were poor but came away with a point - a few years ago we would’ve lost that game.

The players know it wasn’t good enough and I’m fully expecting a reaction against Chelsea on Sunday.

Perhaps, the bigger concern is our away form.

It is difficult to put your finger on why we’ve only won four games on the road this season.

Is the team’s preparation so much different to that of home games?

And it’s not just one or two players who have struggled to produce, consistently, away from home this season, it is the majority of the squad.

When you play away, as daft as it sounds, you get longer to relax and maybe that greater down time means the players take longer to get up to speed on matchdays.

It sounds daft, but I’m struggling to understand why Everton are so different away from home to how they area at Goodison.

Next season is going to prove difficult for the Blues to replicate next term and so their away form is going to have to be better than it’s been.

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Perhaps, it boils down to the calibre of player in the squad.

And the need for players with that extra ounce of quality, or leadership or that spark to make the difference in those away games.

I always remember towards the end of one season, we were down at Wimbledon, at it was typical, nothing to play for type of stuff.

But out of nowhere, Gary Speed charged past me and closed one of their players down to win the ball back.

It jolted me into action.

‘That should’ve been me closing that man down’ I thought.

And so maybe that is what Everton were missing on Saturday against West Ham.

A Bridge too far

The thought of November’s game at Stamford Bridge is enough to send shivers down the spine of every Evertonian.

The side didn’t show up.

Chelsea hammered us 5-0 and the team fell way below the standards that they have shown in large parts this season.

The league leaders played to a very, very high level that night but Everton gave them too much respect yet Sunday afternoon, at Goodison, is the chance to prove that it was a one-off.

And, make no mistake, as Antonio Conte’s side try and close out the title Goodison is the last place they want to come.

Everton have got to capitalise on all the advantages of being at home and make it uncomfortable and nerve-wracking for Chelsea.

Ronald's black and white thinking

I’m not sure I fully subscribe to the idea that the decision to drop Joel Robles has wider implications for his Everton future.

I just think that is the way Ronald Koeman is.

If you’re not performing then you don’t play. If you are performing then you’re in the side.

It’s black and white in that respect.

I can understand that people have looked at the decision, with only a handful of games of the season to go, as a sign to Robles, from the manager, that he’s had his chance to claim the long-term No1 spot and blown it.

But I didn’t see it as that, even though a new goalkeeper is a priority for the summer.

Knowing Ronald, as I do, I see his decision as more straightforward than that.