Frank Lampard is set to be allowed to fight on as Everton manager.
Lampard’s position appears increasingly perilous following Tuesday’s 4-1 humiliation by Brighton, his side’s third straight Premier League home loss.
The Blues are teetering above the relegation zone by one point and could find themselves in the bottom three if results on Wednesday go against them.
But despite growing calls by fans for him to be sacked, the former England midfielder retains the support of the Goodison Park hierarchy in the interim.
He took training at Finch Farm on Wednesday and held pre-planned talks with director of football Kevin Thelwell and CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale.
The Everton boss is set to preview the FA Cup third round trip to Manchester United on Thursday and be in the Old Trafford away dugout 24 hours later.
Any final decision to end Lampard’s 12-month tenure will rest with the club’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who was integral in his appointment.
Should the 44-year-old be deposed, former Burnley manager Sean Dyche is expected to be the favourite to take over the vacant Goodison hot seat.
Dyche was previously linked with Everton after Ronald Koeman’s exit in 2017 but lost out to the Dutchman’s short-term successor, Sam Allardyce.
Roberto Martinez is another readily available candidate, having resigned from his role as Belgium national team head coach following last year’s World Cup.
Everton failed in a bid to coax back their former manager, the first to be sacked by Moshiri, last January in the wake of Rafael Benitez’s brief stint.