Michael Keane accepts fans’ criticisms of himself and his Everton team mates.
A promising summer transfer window had sparked hopes that this season would be a stronger campaign for the Goodison Park club under Ronald Koeman.
Instead, it has been a miserable start to the season with the Blues managing just three wins in all competitions to date ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game with Lyon.
They currently sit just two points outside of the Premier League’s relegation zone and bottom of Group E with just a point from their first three continental games.
That has seen strong criticism from the Everton faithful, with many questioning both the players and the management.
Goodison has been particularly hostile but Keane believes that is more than justified if the players are not performing to their expected standards.
“Obviously we’re disappointed not to go out and win games for the home crowd,” he said.
“Everton had a fantastic record at Goodison Park last season and that’s something we wanted to continue.
“For one reason or another, it’s not happened so far. All’s we can do is keep working hard; we’re desperate to get it right.
“I think our game at the weekend was much better; we could have won that game. If we can control games like we did against Brighton we’ll give ourselves a much better chance.
“I wouldn’t say it’s been difficult (to play home games). We’ve got a lot of experience in our team and we know what it’s like.
“If we’re not playing well, playing free-flowing football then the fans have a right to get on our case.
“They have high expectations, as they should do.
“It’s sometimes nice to go away and build confidence then bring that back to Goodison so I feel like we controlled the game at the weekend so hopefully, we can do that tomorrow and be more positive in our play.
“We want to create chances, keep teams penned in and put them to the sword. We haven’t done it enough at Goodison this year so hopefully, we can do that.”