Tarkowski insists Everton aren't paying attention to Premier League table | OneFootball

James Tarkowski insists Everton are not taking any lessons from the Premier League table despite pulling clear of the relegation zone.

Thursday’s win over Newcastle saw Sean Dyche’s side escape the bottom three mere weeks after they were hit with a landmark 10-point deduction.

But Tarkowski is adamant that the Toffees will not be using the current standings as a reflection of their ability to beat the drop in a third season running.

“The league table is the league table. People say we will be fine or we won’t be fine,” said Tarkowski.

“Our job as players is to get on that pitch, perform and put points on the board.

“After the 38th game of the season, we will have a look at where we are, and then we will judge our season on that.

“We know we are in a good place right now. We have lost a few players, but players have come in and performed, just like the players who have missed out.

“Everyone is ready to play. Whoever is playing, whether it is myself, someone else, or whoever it is, everyone is ready to go on that pitch and perform for this team.”

Despite their comfortable score line, Dyche’s charges were guilty of spurning several chances against the Magpies before engineering a late second-half breakthrough.

Tarkowski, however, believes that Everton’s ability to keep things tight defensively is a sign of their continued progress as they approach the campaign’s midway stage.

“We can’t expect to score three goals every week, so it is important that we are secure at the back, and in recent weeks we have been,” he added.

“That is a continuous process and we have got to be like that week in and week out.

“[Thursday was] another great evening for us, but we are ready to go again on Sunday because the game comes around fast and we look forward to it.”

Everton will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins when they host an under-performing Chelsea in Sunday’s Goodison Park encounter.