NO excuses. No panic. No feeling sorry for himself. Tim Howard may be hurting as much as any Evertonian following Sunday’s painful derby defeat, but the goalkeeper knows he cannot afford to dwell on what might have been.

Not when the opportunity to secure progress to the last 32 of the Europa League and kickstart a campaign hurtling towards murky waters is enough to focus the mind of everyone associated with the club.

Everton take on AEK Athens here in the Greek capital this evening desperately seeking respite from a dismal run of form that has left some of their players and even manager David Moyes accepting a relegation fight could be a very real possibility.

Yet while domestic results continue to offer little encouragement, it has been a different story in Europe.

Sure, the last two games have seen chastening defeats to Group I leaders Benfica, but those results were skewed by Everton’s chronic absentee list, most notably during the 5-0 thrashing in the Stadium of Light.

But that tonight’s opponents were swatted aside 4-0 at Goodison earlier in the competition offers encouragement to Moyes’s men despite further injury woes, particularly if they can maintain the level of performance that should have gleaned some reward against Liverpool.

The recovery must start somewhere, and for Howard now is as good a time as any.

“People always talk about starting points and turning points and that is what we need now,” says the goalkeeper. “We are looking for a half-decent performance but the result is what really matters to put us through to the next stage.

“Football is funny – just one win can make a massive difference. It gets you buzzing again for the next week. Yes, that is just how quick it can all change.

“Wins create confidence and that is all we are lacking at the moment. One win and I am sure we can then string a few performances together.”

Victory tonight, and a win for Benfica at BATE Borisov in the group’s other fixture, would guarantee Everton’s place in the knockout stages with a game to spare, a direct route in contrast to the flight that brought the team to Athens on Monday which seemingly completed an entire lap of the city after landing before mercifully arriving at the gate. Those intimidation tactics again, eh?

A draw would keep Everton’s fate in their own hands ahead of the final group encounter at home to BATE in a fortnight, but defeat would see AEK leapfrog the Goodison outfit into the second and final qualification berth.

And while Moyes’s men have won just one of their last 11 games, Howard can sense a change in mood among the dressing room.

“We all felt good about Sunday’s performance against Liverpool, if not the result,” says the United States international. “We certainly felt we deserved something out of the game.

“It was a well-competed derby match and it sucks to have come out of it with nothing, having played so well.

“But at the moment that is where we are – things just aren’t going for us.”

Howard cites the two goals Liverpool scored on Sunday – a Javier Mascherano strike that deflected in off Joseph Yobo and a Dirk Kuyt tap-in after the goalkeeper had saved Albert Riera’s shot – as proof the fates are conspiring against Everton.

“I had the first one covered and thought it was going to go wide of the post and then it takes a big deflection and there is nothing you can do about it,” he says.

“Then I got a good hand on the second and the ball could easily have fallen to one of our players and instead it fell perfectly for Dirk Kuyt.

“Those things certainly aren’t lost on me but at the moment these little things won’t run for us.”

Howard, who will be hoping to keep his first clean sheet in 13 games tonight, adds: “But we know how it all balances out. There were certain periods last year when we seemed to have all the luck and it will come around again.

“The important thing is to keep our heads down, to work hard and not look for excuses.