BILL KENWRIGHT admits to a feeling of “bewilderment” at seeing Everton slump to the bottom of the Premier League following their worst start to a season for 16 years.

But the Goodison chairman has dismissed suggestions of a crisis and is confident the team can still challenge for European qualification.

A goalless draw at Fulham at the weekend has left Everton with just three points from six games and still seeking their first top-flight win.

It is in stark contrast to the end of the previous season, in which a run of just two defeats in 24 league games led many observers, including Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, to tout David Moyes’s men as possible title challengers.

And Everton owner Kenwright said: “We’re in a state of shock rather than crisis, because we went into this season with high hopes, which Evertonians don’t usually do.

“After last season, when we were depleted by injuries, it was really important to batten down the hatches and hold on to what we had, with the likes of Mikel Arteta, Jack Rodwell, Seamus Coleman and the like.

“We were all set for what we thought for the first time in a long, long time was a season when we could hopefully deliver what Evertonians want and should get.

“There was a real confidence so naturally there’s a real feeling now almost of bewilderment at where we are, especially seeing how we’ve played.”