Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin demands improvement on the road next season

Everton’s January signing Morgan Schneiderlin has called on his teammates to improve their away form in next season’s Premier League, reports Press Association Sport (via BT Sport).

Ronald Koeman’s men are guaranteed a seventh place finish in the top-flight this term given they are 15 points clear of Southampton in eighth, and five points behind Manchester United in sixth, with just a trip to Arsenal to come for the Toffees.

The Merseyside outfit have won 17 of their 37 league games this term, but only four of those have come away from Goodison Park – in fact, they have only picked up 18 points on the road from their 18 matches this season, compared to 43 from their 19 home clashes.

And it’s this away record which former United midfielder Schneiderlin says quite simply has to improve next season.

He said: ‘We look stronger at home but we need to progress away from home and hopefully next year we will do that to catch the team above us because there is not a lot of margin between us and the top six.

‘You can see the difference between home form and away form. That is the main thing.’

And given that Everton have taken 17 less points away from home than United this term, and 12 less than fifth place Arsenal, it’s clear how much their away record has let them down in their quest to sustain a challenge to the top six this season.

Yet, Koeman’s men could put a real statement of intent out ahead of next season with victory at the Emirates on Sunday, which will bring the curtain down on a much-improved campaign at Goodison Park, and one that stands them in good stead for the next few years.