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Everton legend Peter Reid is eager to see his former side finally end their long wait for silverware, with the club having gone more than three decades without lifting a major trophy.

Looking back to May 20, 1995 — the day Everton last celebrated a title after a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Wembley — few supporters would have imagined it would take this long before they tasted success again.

Now, 31 years on from that triumph, frustration is beginning to brew among fans. Many had hoped that the move to their state-of-the-art Hill Dickinson Stadium a year ago would spark a turnaround, but those expectations have yet to materialise.

Everton’s 13th-place finish last season came as a major disappointment, particularly given their struggles at home. Statistics show that in the Premier League’s home form table, they ranked 14th, whereas their away record would have placed them seventh — a clear and worrying divergence.

Despite that, club icon Peter Reid remains optimistic that Everton can make real progress next season.

“I think it’s fair to say Everton were probably better away from home last season,” Reid told FFT while discussing the upcoming auction of the world’s largest-ever World Cup memorabilia collection, marking nearly 60 years since England’s 1966 World Cup triumph. Among the prized items up for bidding is Gordon Banks’ 1966 World Cup winner’s medal.

“Teams tended to come at them more away from home, which allowed Everton to sit back, defend deep and then hit on the counter-attack,” he explained.

“At home, things were different. Playing in a new stadium brings different expectations — fans want to see attacking football, and you could feel that extra pressure. In my view, the players that David Moyes had last season weren’t quite capable of adapting to that style, which is why Everton picked up most of their points away from home rather than at Hill Dickinson.”

Reid noted that adjusting to a new home ground can be challenging. “Even with all the support and goodwill from the fans, it doesn’t immediately feel like home when you’ve spent years playing somewhere else,” he said. “But now that they’ve had a full season there, they’ve settled in. They did reasonably well last term — now it’s time to push forward.”

The former midfielder, who featured at Hill Dickinson last year in a Toffees legends match celebrating the stadium’s opening, believes that smart activity in the transfer window will be vital for Everton’s progression in the upcoming campaign.

“Everton need to bring in a bit more quality,” Reid said. “They already have some excellent players — especially at the back, with Jordan Pickford, who is top class, and Jarrad Branthwaite when he’s fit. Branthwaite would have been part of the World Cup squad this summer if he hadn’t been sidelined through injury last season.”

He added, “There’s good talent in midfield too, with players like Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewesbury-Hall. But they need more of that calibre if they want to really compete.”