The Toffees fell to a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea on Monday, denying them an opportunity to break into the top four, but have three sides below them in the table as their next set of opponents in Burnley, Crystal Palace and Brighton.
However, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have struggled to find results against teams that seemingly were not in great form and ex-Everton star Ball has insisted it is high time the Toffees set that right.
The former defender admitted some of Everton’s worst displays in the current campaign have come against sides struggling with their form but stressed they now have an opportunity to fix that in their upcoming run of league games.
Ball wrote in his Liverpool Echo column: “I’m really looking forward to seeing how our next three Premier League games all unfold.
“We are facing three sides who are all below us in the table and who are all struggling for form at the minute.
“However, our form against these sides so far this season has been very poor, with some of our worst displays of the campaign coming against sides fighting to avoid the drop.”
Ball added that Everton need to have a more ruthless, forward-thinking approach against teams that are worse off than them in the table, making life difficult for them by playing on the front foot.
“These games coming up are where we need to become ruthless from an attacking point of view.
“I’d really like us by the end of these games coming up to have seen a new forward-thinking style from Carlo.
“Otherwise, and especially against Burnley this weekend, the games are going to be very boring if we just sit in tight and wait for an opportunity to present itself.
“I’d much rather see us come out like we used to do in the old days and put Burnley under pressure and make it difficult for them.”
Burnley are winless in their last five league outings and Everton will be determined to pile more misery on the visitors at the weekend with a win at Goodison Park.
