MIXED emotions prevailed at Goodison Park last Saturday as Everton FC performed well but lacked the ruthless edge to take all three points from Aston Villa.

There were also mixed messages from the fan base as first one group of supporters, the Blue Union, staged a demonstration march criticising Bill Kenwright and the board – only for a sizeable majority of the Goodison crowd to give the Everton chairman a rousing round of applause midway through the first half.

With another home match looming this Saturday, many supporters will be waiting to see what the Blue Union have planned next.

Clearly though, events will largely be dictated by results on the pitch and as long as Moyes’ men can keep competing for a top eight place a fans’ crisis should be diverted.

After the Villa match Moyes was keen to downplay his team’s expectations for the season, arguing the fans should be realistic in their hopes of what can be achieved.

That’s a worrying statement from a manager who has always claimed in the past part of his job was to raise the fans’ expectations.

The fact is, with a squad virtually unchanged from last season the supporters still expect Everton to be pushing for European qualification.