FanView: Injuries Are No Excuse As Sam Allardyce Plots End to Abject Everton Away Form

​It's no secret to Evertonians that their club's ​Premier League away form over the past year or so has been nothing short of abject.

Just one win on the road - December's 1-0 triumph over ​Newcastle United - is the only three -point haul that ​Everton have returned to Merseyside with in 24 attempts, and there have been plenty of reasons offered up as to why that is.

A lack of mental toughness, playing the wrong team, picking the wrong tactics and the general malaise that has set in throughout this term are all valid points - but one that doesn't really stack up is the excuse Sam Allardyce provided in his press conference on Thursday.

Speaking to the press, the 63-year-old stated his belief that the Blues' horrendous form on their travels was largely down to the club continually being deprived of its best players due to injury.

He said: "It's been a tough time all year with injuries and that has certainly had an affect on away performances and away results."

Has it though, Sam? If that was the primary factor in why the Toffees were unable to consistently chalk up victories away from Goodison Park then logic would dictate that losing key stars to injury would result in games also being drawn or lost on home soil too.

It could be possible that, due to the different ways in which football pitches are managed at other clubs, that injuries can be sustained based on how well the playing surface is looked after, or how it is made up.

To merely state that seeing a revolving door of players enter and leave the treatment room is something of a nothing excuse though, and the man dubbed 'Fireman Sam' should know better.

Of course, the ex-England and ​Crystal Palace manager has expressed his concerns about his squad's mental state in contests away from home in the past and he may be looking to move on from the tired excuse of 'having a loser's mentality' on the road before he can beaten with it by fans and critics again.

(You may also be interested in ​Sam Allardyce Hits Out at Everton Media Team After They Issue 'Wrong' Statement on Sigurdsson Injury)

But his latest comment doesn't - and won't - wash with Everton's loyal following. They pay good money to see their team play up and down the country, and being told their horrific away form is down to injuries won't sit well with them.

It'll be another arrow in the quiver of Evertonians to fire at Allardyce when he's already under pressure in L4. It might be in his best interests not to trot that excuse out again.