Football
Mike Whalley 9y

Phil Jagielka says Everton 'need to go on a run' over Christmas

Phil Jagielka has called for a fast improvement from Everton as they bid to halt a dip in form over Christmas.

Roberto Martinez's side suffered a fourth defeat in six matches as they were beaten 3-0 at Southampton on Saturday.

That defeat has left Everton 11th in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of a Champions League qualification spot.

Martinez faces a battle ahead to match or better last season's fifth-place finish, even though his side have excelled in Europe, reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League by finishing top of a group containing Wolfsburg and Lille.

Everton have not kept a clean sheet in six games, and club captain Jagielka says a run of good results is needed soon in order to get the league season back on track.

The Toffees face three Premier League matches in six days over Christmas, hosting Stoke City on Dec. 26, before visiting Newcastle United two days later and Hull City on Jan. 1.

Jagielka told the club website: "We are at home on Boxing Day and we need to start picking up some wins and some more points.

"It's never easy when we lose 3-0 but we have got games thick and fast now. We need to dust ourselves down and try to put in some good performances.

"We've been saying it for a while now that we need to go on a run. Unfortunately today it wasn't good enough and if we can get a little run going hopefully we can get up to where we want to be."

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