Everton captain Phil Neville is urging his team mates to show no fear against Chelsea tomorrow night at Goodison Park.
The Toffee’s returned to training following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Merseyside rivals Liverpool, which the skipper admits still hurts.
However, the former Manchester United man believes after going nine games unbeaten in the league prior to the derby they can get back on track tomorrow night.
“We need to lick our wounds, get back to the training ground and look forward to Wednesday night,” Neville said.
“Games are coming thick and fast at the moment and we can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves.
“You’ve got to pick yourself up and get on with it. We’ve got to raise ourselves for another massive game at Goodison.
“We’ve been showing an outstanding level of performance in the Premier League and we can take a lot of positives from the run that we’ve been on.
“I don’t think we should be frightened of anyone at the moment.
“We’re playing well, we’re full of confidence, and we’ve got a lot of players back fit and ready to play in the big games.
“We’ve got a strong squad now, and one that is looking forward to the next month. Let’s look forward to them and not be fearful of them.”
The Blue’s skipper was pleased to see the return of midfielder Mikel Arteta who managed to play for an hour due to the injury picked up by Marouene Fellaini after a clash with Sotiris Kyriakos.
“Mikel coming on meant we could dictate the game even more because he’s probably one of our best ball players,” Neville added.
“We had large amounts of possession in the game, but when we got in that final third when we needed a little bit of composure, maybe even a cross, we just didn’t produce.
“We had still chances, but we just didn’t have enough quality in the final third.
“I think when a team goes down to 10 men they’re probably harder to play against. You know that they are looking for maybe just a set-piece goal which is what they got.
“The goal gave them something to hang on to and we didn’t stretch them enough.
“When you’re camped on the edge of your own box it’s easy to defend in front of you, and we didn’t get behind them.
“But Chelsea on Wednesday is a great game to bounce back in. Them or Manchester United will win the league, they’re the next two we play, so we’re going to have to beat the champions over the next couple.”
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