Howard Kendall is ready to arrest Everton's dramatic fall from grace by spending the next 10 days wheeling and dealing within the transfer market.

If Kendall has his way two Republic of Ireland players could be on the move. The manager is keen to bring goalkeeper Alan Kelly to Goodison while Terry Phelan may be among those on the way out.

Saturday's defeat by Sheffield Wednesday was sufficient to see Everton slip into one of the Premiership's relegation places just two points above the division's bottom club Barnsley.

Ideally, Kendall would like to off-load at least four of those players he inherited when he succeeded Joe Royle in the summer.

The first big-name casualty is likely to be the former England international utility man Nick Barmby who seems set to join Derby County less than 12 months after his arrival from Middlesbrough made him the most expensive player in Everton's history.

Derby manager Jim Smith has already opened negotiations with Everton and while he is believed happy to offer around £5 million for 23-year-old Barmby, Kendall may well seek to arrange a package deal involving either striker Dean Sturridge or Croatian international midfielder Aljosa Asanovic.

Besides Barmby and Phelan, other players moving inexorably towards Goodison Park's front door are Klaus Thomsen, Earl Barrett, and Tony Grant.

Kendall remains keen on signing three players from his former club Sheffield United - Kelly, midfielder Mitch Ward and Norwegian international defender Roger Nilsen.