Everton's players shared the disappointment of the fans following the defeat to Leicester City and are said to be desperate to regain momentum in the final week before the World Cup break.
The dressing room had been keen to give supporters a positive display in the final game at Goodison Park before Christmas. Instead the Blues were overwhelmed by the visitors in one of the most frustrating showings of the campaign so far.
Nathan Patterson said "togetherness" was crucial to the club bouncing back over the double header with Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup and then the Premier League. Frank Lampard will make changes for the cup tie but has stressed he is taking the competition seriously.
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Everton's squad leadership team led a dressing room inquest following the loss to Newcastle United - the tough words spoken paving the way for the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace days later. The mood among the squad after the Leicester defeat was one of frustration at a missed opportunity to build on the home form that had also included a win over West Ham United.
Detailing the immediate reaction to the loss, Patterson said: "We’re disappointed with the result but hopefully we can pick ourselves up and look forward to the upcoming games. You want the next game to come around as quickly as possible so you can try to make it right and get a better performance. We wanted to come here and give the fans something to cheer about. We didn’t manage to do that but we’ll go back to the training ground, regroup and look forward to the next games."
For Patterson, the Saturday evening game offered the chance to earn more minutes following his recovery from an ankle injury sustained on international duty. He told the Everton club website he is confident in his recovery and targeting minutes in the final games before the domestic season breaks.
He said: "I’m feeling a lot better. My ankle feels strong. I rolled it a wee bit but it seems to be fine, so I‘m just looking forward to the games and hopefully I can get more minutes. We just need to stick together, keep the togetherness in the changing room, work hard in training and make sure we get a win in the next game."
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