James Tarkowski insists Everton players are in the dark over their points deduction appeal as they await decision… as he reveals their initial ‘shock’ at the ruling

James Tarkowski says Everton players are in the dark over their points deduction appeal.

The Toffees are this week expected to learn the fate of their appeal regarding a 10-point deduction they received in November for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. 

Their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday pushed them out of the relegation zone, thanks to their superior goal difference over Luton Town.

Should they win their appeal, the Toffees would move ten points clear of the bottom three, pushing them up to 12th in the standings.

Tarkowski has revealed the initial ‘shock at the ruling’ and that ‘no one knows’ what the outcome will be in terms of their appeal.

James Tarkowski (left) insists Everton players are in the dark over their appeal 

He said after the draw with Palace: ‘I think the manager been excellent with it, we were all off when it was announced and it shocked a fair few of us. We found out about an hour before it was announced.

‘We got back in, quick meeting, parked it, my job is on not off the field and we responded period really well. 

‘(We’re) On a difficult run but we’ve been performing alright and hopefully a few wins on the way. I don’t think we try and pre-empt it too much. 

‘The manager is very good at getting us to focus on the pitch, no one really knows what’s going to happen as we cant be saying we’re going to get some points back, just focusing on points we’ve got at the moment and if we do get some points back, time will tell.

‘We’ve been performing pretty well. We’ve had some tough games and played really well in all those games. 

‘It’s a difficult run but if you put them 10 points we’ve been taken off back on board we’d be in a healthier position and we just focus on the next game and hopefully a win is on the way.’

The charges were implemented on the Toffees after they recorded losses in the excess of £105million over a three-year period, ending in 2022.

Tarkowski has praised Sean Dyche for helping the players forget about the deduction and focus on their on-field performances

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Premier League club’s accounts for 2020 and 2021 were averaged as part of the three-year calculation.

Everton were hit with a second charge of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) back on January 15.

The Toffees, alongside fellow Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest, have been referred to an independent commission which will consider the alleged offences.

It means that depending on the outcome, Everton could face further point deductions which would increase the probability of relegation this season.