It hasn't quite been the comeback to Premier League management that Sam Allardyce would have envisioned.
While it was always hard to comprehend that Everton could ever really be dragged into a relegation battle this season, the arrival of the former English manager has coincided with a relatively poor run of results recently.
Taking only 2 points from their last five games, Big Sam has not yet addressed what would appear to be the most damning indictment of Everton's form this season.
Although the arrival of Turkish striker Cenk Tosun may yet revitalise Everton's as yet failed effort to replace Romelu Lukaku, Allardyce is keen to shift the blame as far from himself as possible.
Speaking after Everton were trounced 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley this evening, Allardyce remained bullish over the efforts of his players:
When the second goal goes in ... it doesn't allow us to throw the towel in and not do the right things.
While Allardyce suggested that Everton had kept things tight enough for the first-half, and could have overcome the one goal deficit, he was left aggrieved with the manner in which his side capitulated so soon into the second-half:
You've got to make sure you defend even better against a Tottenham when they go 2-0 up ... otherwise, you end up getting what you just got.
Too many of our players just decided not to defend anymore when Tottenham had the ball, and when you do that, with the quality of these players, they will cut straight through you.
Singling out Jordan Pickford as the sole reason why Everton weren't beaten by more, he is convinced that much work is ahead of him as he seeks to instill Everton with a greater level of "professionalism."
A big job ahead undoubtedly, you can watch the whole of Allardyce's post-match interview below.
