Problems mounted for Everton in the north east on Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss at Newcastle United, who are also battling at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
Everton have the worst record in the Premier League over the last 12 games, picking up just five points and shipping a whopping 24 goals in the process.
Toffees legend Osman feels that there have to be relegation worries around Goodison Park due to the side producing performances which are not what he associates with an Everton side.
Osman believes that there are real question marks over whether the defenders in defence are up to Premier League standard.
“You have to be worried [about relegation] when your team are playing as poorly as Everton are, when your team are showing that it doesn’t take an awful lot to out-fight you, to out-battle you, to score goals against you”, Osman said post match on BBC Radio 5 live.
“These aren’t hallmarks of a traditional Everton team.
“Everton are [supposed to be] difficult to play against, we all thought it.
“That’s something that Frank Lampard’s inherited. He’s got to find a way of making Everton tougher to beat, making the opposition have to work harder to score against you.
“I feel it’s defensively more than anything for Everton at the moment.
“I don’t know if I’d say the players defensively aren’t up to the standard that they need, aren’t up to Premier League standard, because at the moment it is far too easy to score goals against Everton”, he added.
Everton return to Goodison Park for their next match, with the visitors set to be Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United, who are a place and two points above the Toffees, in 15th.
