Michael Ball has told The Transfer Tavern that Everton’s players need to prove themselves worthy of a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad between now and the end of the season.

The Toffees have enjoyed a relatively successful season this term under the experienced management of Carlo Ancelotti.

Following the weekend’s results, the club sit eighth in the Premier League table, but they are now nine points behind fourth-placed Chelsea after losing to Aston Villa on Saturday.

They still have a game in hand on the Blues but catching them now seems unlikely at best, given the respective form of each side.

Securing qualification for the Europa League remains within their grasp but the Toffees will need to start winning with some regularity for that to become a reality.

And Ball has challenged the players at his old club to step up and show that they deserve to be a part of the squad next season, when the club will likely look to kick on again.

Speaking exclusively to TT, Ball said: “If the players want to be at the football club next season, they’ve got to start performing now to the level Carlo wants to keep them in the squad.

“It’s a huge incentive for them to go out there and prove to the fans and to Carlo that they want to be there.

“That’s by putting top performances in and winning football games and fingers crossed other teams in and around you start dropping points as well because they’ve got their own issues going on.”