Everton midfielder James Garner admits the impending outcome of the club's 10-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules has played on his mind.
Since the club were issued with the punishment in November, the mantra from manager Sean Dyche to his squad has been to move on and focus on the job of regaining what was lost.
However, with the wait for the outcome of the appeal now into a third week, Garner admits it has bothered him, with the club only just climbing back out of the relegation zone with a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace.
"Me personally, it plays on my mind," he said.
"Without the 10-point deduction, we would be much higher in the league table, so whenever that (appeal) comes in, I will be waiting.
"We just need to keep ourselves above that dotted line, and hopefully when the results of the appeal come back, we are much higher up the table."
Without the deduction Everton would be comfortable in 12th but the added pressure of being in a relegation battle is taking its toll.
Fans booed the team after a poor first half at home to Palace in a game they would have expected to win considering the disruption to the out of form visitors caused by Roy Hodgson's hospitalisation on Thursday and his subsequent decision to step down to be replaced by former Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner just a few hours' before kick-off.
"I can understand the fans' frustrations because I am frustrated myself but there is so long to go (in the season), and we need the fans to be supporting us and not booing us. That is important going forward," added Garner.
"I understand the frustration. It is another game that got away from us that we should be looking to win."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Inter Milan v Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday from 7.30pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
Watch Italy v Republic of Ireland in an international friendly on Friday from 5.10pm live on the RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
