Leighton Baines has accused Everton’s players of lacking chemistry this season as the club’s poor form intensifies.
The England international’s criticism comes after the Blues fell to their fourth defeat in five league games with a 1-0 reversal to Manchester United yesterday as Roberto Martinez continues to faces questions over his tenure.
And Baines, 31, believes that both the players and manager should shoulder their share of the blame for the below-par performances.
“I just don’t feel as though the chemistry is quite there with the team on the pitch at the moment, and it hasn’t been for a while,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“We’re in games, we were in the game on Sunday and had a couple of chances, but we’re not performing as a team to the level we know we can or we should be.
“Results have an impact on that because chemistry and confidence go hand in hand. Look at the teams who are having success this year and you’d say they have chemistry.
“If I had to say one thing, I just don’t know if it’s there with us at the moment, for whatever reason.”
The Kirkby-born defender also insisted that, despite reaching an FA Cup semi-final, Everton cannot hide behind excuses on the back of the Old Trafford loss – a third successive Premier League defeat of the campaign.
He added: “We haven’t won enough games to make excuses.
“You get judged at the end of the season, and we’re getting towards the end of the season, and we’re not near a position we should be in given what we’ve got.
“We’re all accountable. We try and put it right but we’ve not been able to. That’s the third loss on the bounce in the league which is disappointing to us all.”