Frank Lampard will be sacked if Everton are relegated this season, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.

Everton slipped into the bottom three for the first time since December 2019 after their Merseyside derby defeat on Sunday and are now in serious danger of losing their Premier League status.

What happened against Liverpool?

Burnley's victory over Wolves earlier in the day meant that Lampard's side arrived at Anfield inside the relegation zone.

However, the Toffees showed little signs of nerves in the early exchanges as they frustrated the quadruple hopefuls for long periods in the game. In fact, Liverpool, who are the top goalscorers in the Premier League, failed to muster up a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Everton even had chances of their own, with Anthony Gordon a constant thorn in the Reds' backline.

But Everton's resistance was finally broken just past the hour mark when Mohamed Salah crossed for Andy Robertson to head home at the far post.

Lampard's side continued to show fight and spirit, but they were unable to make the most of their half chances and fell further behind late on when Luis Diaz's overhead kick found Divock Origi, who continued his love affair with this fixture.

It was a seventh defeat in 11 top-flight games for Lampard, who's taken Everton from 15th to 18th in his short time at the club, which has left them fighting to avoid dropping into the Championship.

And Brown reckons that relegation will automatically mark the end of Lampard's time as manager.

What did Brown say about Everton?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "It feels like Lampard can't be there next season because he's failed to do his job, that's definitely a possibility, although the only way I see a new manager coming to Everton is if they go down and the owner goes, 'you failed, off you go, on your bike'."

Liverpool 2-0 Everton! Full reaction to Merseyside derby on The Football Terrace...

Can Everton stay in the Premier League?

Prior to the Merseyside derby, Everton had put in two improved performances, and had four points from a possible six to show for their efforts.

However, at this stage of the season, performances count for nothing, and Lampard's side are now two points from safety and have a worse goal difference than Burnley, although they do have a game in hand on the managerless Clarets.

But Everton still have to play Chelsea and Arsenal, while games against Leicester, Brentford and Crystal Palace are likely to be far from easy.

And with Burnley's fixture list far more inviting, with games to come against sides that are mainly playing for nothing, it's set to be an anxious few weeks for the Goodison Park faithful.