Sam Allardyce admits he was shocked by Everton’s ‘professionalism’ in their defeat to Tottenham.
A 4-0 reversal at Wembley saw the Blues’ wait for a win stretch to six games in all competitions with a particularly disappointing showing in the second half.
The visitors’ combination of slack play all round, particularly in defence, allowed Mauricio Pochettino’s side to waltz to victory after the interval.
That angered Allardyce, who hit out at his players lapse in standards after the game.
“We were okay first half and looked comfortable but the second goal went in, if it’s offside then that’s obviously a killer,” he told BT Sport.
“But it doesn’t allow us to throw the towel in
“When I say that, I mean you have to make sure you defend even better against a Tottenham side 2-0 up and not relinquish that defensive responsibility. Otherwise, you end up getting what we just got.
“Too many of our players just decided not to defend anymore when Tottenham had the ball.
“When you do that with the quality of these players they will just cut through you. If it weren’t for Jordan Pickford they would have had more today.
“I’m hugely disappointed in the professionalism of my players today, that’s really out of order that you relinquish that responsibility just because you’ve gone 2-0 down one minute into the second half.
“There’s still another 44 minutes plus injury time to play, so play your way back into the game and be professional about it.
“It shocked me to be honest; I haven’t seen it since I got here.
“I’ve seen it now, it was probably what was apparent before I got here and I’ve got to cut it out, starting tomorrow.”