Moyes at a loss to explain Everton woes

Everton manager David Moyes admits he is at a loss over his team’s current problems after they were held to a 0-0 draw by struggling Wigan at Goodison Park.

Moyes’ men were predicted by no less a judge than Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson as contenders for the Premier League title this season, but they have now won just two of nine home league games and currently stand only two points above the relegation places.

Against Wigan on Saturday, they missed an astonishing catalogue of chances and Moyes admitted that he cannot explain why his side is struggling so badly in that department.

“We’ve been here before in a similar situation but the worrying thing for me is we are not winning at home to teams who over the years we have normally beaten,” he said.

“That’s a concern. I couldn’t question our attitude, as I did when we lost our last home game against West Brom. We tried to go for it.

“But we missed blatant chances. I don’t know if you will get better chances in the Premier League than the ones we missed.

“And the longer we didn’t take chances, the more frustrated we got and the more anxiety came into our play and the crowd.

“I’m looking at this, trying to see if it’s something else other than just not scoring goals. And I’m finding it hard to find anything other than that.”

Despite their problems at home, however, the Scotsman insisted that playing at Goodison is not causing his players undue anxiety.

“It hasn’t been a problem in the past,” he added. “But the anxiety is coming from our form and our position. We’re just looking and wondering where we are going to score a goal.

“I tried to make changes with 20 minutes to go and I thought we were worse then than at any other time in the game. I thought we looked more open and looked a poorer team.

“I thought my substitutions were poor, I made the wrong choices. I’ll look at what I’ve done and try to make them better next time.”

Those substitutions – Victor Anichebe and Jermaine Beckford – failed to improve Everton’s play.

Seamus Coleman and Louis Saha both missed chances with only the goalkeeper to beat and Tim Cahill headed against the post.

To add to Moyes’ woes, his most creative player, South African midfielder Steven Pienaar, also came off with a groin injury.

“When he came off, I never thought we got back to that level we started the second half,” Moyes said.

The draw represented a good point for Roberto Martinez’s Wigan, although the Spaniard claimed that he was equally frustrated not to have collected all three points with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard forced to make an important late save from Ben Watson.

“I felt we finished the stronger side,” said Martinez. “Coming away from home, at this stage of the season with the importance of the three points, the performance was what we needed.

“So there is frustration because I felt the manner we finished the game meant we dropped two points.”