THERE are lies, damn lies and statistics. But crunch the numbers of Everton’s campaign thus far and it’s impossible to avoid some inconvenient truths.

Stat one. Having been revealed as the most fouled team in the Premier League, it emerged this week that no team has accrued fewer disciplinary points than the Goodison outfit.

Put those together, and it gives credence to David Moyes’s fear his team have lost their competitive edge and are in danger of being too easily bullied out of games.

Stat two. Of the 50 goals Everton have scored during the year 2010, only 11 have come from a recognised striker, underlining the need for a top-rated forward.

Stat three. Moyes’s men have not kept a clean sheet in seven games this season, highlighting a need for the return of the stingy defence that has been the trademark foundation for success under the Scot.

Of course, the figures that will be of most concern to the Goodison manager is that his team lie 19th in the Premier League table with just two points from their opening five games.

A worst start since 1994 was compounded by Tuesday’s Carling Cup elimination at npower League One strugglers Brentford.

And Moyes admits his players, who began the season being tipped as outside contenders for the championship by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, are struggling to come to terms with their dreadful start.

"They are bitterly disappointed with their current level, because they are top players – a lot of them could go and play for top-four clubs in any country," says the Everton manager.

"So many of them are players who should be at the top level, and for them to be in this position, they find it incredibly difficult.

"There a real passion now to try and put it right. There’s a good chance the confidence could be affected by this run, even if we haven’t played that badly.

"We’ve been knocked out of the cup, we didn’t play well in the league game before, the performance is okay but we are not picking up results so you could definitely say that maybe under these circumstances we could lose confidence.

"It might be something that happens if we don’t get results soon, and we may have to wake up to that fact."