SUMMER, the time of sunshine and relaxation, has become anything but for Everton supporters in recent years.

Rather than sitting back and reflecting on another season of encouraging progress from David Moyes and his players, fans have instead been left chewing their nails in the hope none of that good work comes undone.

The financial constraints under which Moyes is forced to wheel and deal during the transfer window have become accepted as the norm by Goodison followers.

But the ongoing success of his team has brought increased expectation and the prospect of some of the Premier League’s supposed bigger fish picking off Everton’s prime assets.

So it is with Joleon Lescott, whose head has been sufficiently turned by Manchester City’s riches to declare earlier this week that he wants to leave.

If Everton’s supporters are unhappy with Lescott’s stance – and plenty are – they did not let it be known at Blackpool last night.

And in truth, there was very little to shout about for those that made the trip from Merseyside to the seaside resort, as an initially encouraging pre-season campaign took another downturn with a disappointing defeat at the Coca-Cola Championship side.

The sight of a hobbling Jo being helped down the tunnel by Mick Rathbone merely added another unnecessary concern to what has thus far been a testing week for Everton.

The Brazilian’s performance until his injury was by some distance the main positive for Moyes after an otherwise under-whelming display from his charges.

In mitigation, Everton had only played two days earlier and are still overcoming any lingering effects of their long-haul journey back from the United States at the weekend.

But Moyes will expect a better level of performance from his players when they wrap up their warm-up programme with the visit of Malaga on Friday evening.