Kevin Ratcliffe tells struggling Everton players: 'You were big fish at your old clubs, but here you are expected to compete and win against the best'

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Everton boss Ronald Koeman deserves time to part the gathering clouds of discontent at Goodison Park and should look to the past for inspiration, according to Kevin Ratcliffe.

Club legend Ratcliffe, who made 494 appearances for the Blues between 1980 and 1992, shares the concern of supporters who have seen the club earn just seven points from as many games so far in the Premier League.

The Merseyside club spent over £140million on new acquisitions this summer, and despite that figure being offset by the sale of Romelu Lukaku, the devastating, rapacious, attacking intent that fans expected has been absent.

Wayne Rooney, Idrissa Gueye and Gylfi Sigurdsson look dejected after the Burnley defeat

Ronald Koeman's side have been left with no balance or width after their summer business

Kevin Ratcliffe, a two-time league winner with Everton, is not convinced by the new players

The Toffees' greatest manager Howard Kendall was reputedly one game from the sack in 1983 when a League Cup victory over Coventry City proved the turning point, with two league titles, an FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup collected during a four-year period.

Ratcliffe believes the current crop owe their beleaguered Dutch boss a run of form, recalling how patience towards Kendall resulted in unqualified success.

The former defender, who was made captain of the club aged just 23, told The Mirror: 'If ­Everton had dumped ­Kendall then the club's history would probably have been ­rewritten – and not for the better.

'At the moment, Everton don't look a better side than last season – and we've spent £140m.

Their latest defeat - their fourth in the league - piled more pressure on boss Ronald Koeman

Howard Kendall enjoyed unprecedented success as Everton manager after a difficult period

Ratcliffe lifts the First Division trophy in 1987

'Are some of the new players like Davy Klaassen or Gylfi Sigurdsson better than Gareth Barry for ­instance? Are they ­better than James McCarthy? Probably not on what we have seen so far.

'They were big fish at their old clubs, who weren't expected to be beat the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. But at Everton you are ­expected to compete and win against these teams. It is a different type of ­pressure and you are taken out of your comfort zone.

'So far it looks like they can't handle it.'

The manner of defeats by Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, coupled with one of the club's worst European performances against Atalanta erased the evident feel-good atmosphere from the first fortnight of the season.

The 1-0 reverse at home to Burnley before the international break has led to a growing number of supporters calling for a managerial change, despite a bright first season under Koeman. 

Koeman defended Davy Klaassen after the midfielder's tough start to life in English football

Gylfi Sigurdsson has struggled to justify his £45million price tag since arriving from Swansea

The man himself is remaining upbeat about his team's chances of a successful campaign despite a difficult start, and he accepts the fans' frustrations.

'I accept that everyone is entitled to his opinion and as a coach I don't run away from criticism,' he told Dutch paper De Telegraaf.

'We know within Everton that we currently play under our level and that the results should be better. The moment I made the move from Southampton to a club with such ambitions, I knew I could be in a difficult situation if investments were not accompanied by results.

'I'm pretty calm with it. I do everything with the rest of the staff and we work even harder to get those results fast.

'I have also said in England that I'm exactly the same coach as in the past few years when it went well. I make sure that the feeling with the group stays good and I follow the line we used.' 

Everton are two points off the relegation zone and have won just two Premier League matches

Despite this Everton's majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said Koeman has his 'total support'