Rafael Benitez admits he shares fan frustrations over Everton’s dismal run.
Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Brentford condemned Benitez’s side to just one win in their last nine Premier League games heading into the Merseyside derby.
Travelling supporters ensured the Blues’ players were left under no illusions about their thoughts on the performance with an angry post-match reaction.
Benitez accepts the outpouring of frustration from fans as par for the course but refused to single out his charges for the manner of their latest reversal.
He said: “We can understand the frustration of the fans because, also, we are frustrated.
“You cannot complain about the effort of the players or the intensity they put in the game, they tried from the beginning until the end.
“We had lots of crosses, lots of shots, we couldn’t score.
“But you cannot complain about effort and you can be disappointed, like everyone, because we don’t want to lose.”
Abdoulaye Doucoure made his first appearance for Everton since suffering a foot injury in mid-October in the loss at the Brentford Community Stadium.
And Benitez believes that the midfielder’s returning presence heralded a slight improvement in proceedings despite the overall team display falling short.
“We have missed some key players,” added the Spaniard.
“With Doucoure coming back it seems a little bit better but overall we didn’t deserve to lose but when you put everything together it seems worse.
“The reality is the team is giving everything on the pitch. You can see the togetherness of the players and they were fighting until the last minute.
“I can understand the frustration but you cannot complain about effort.
“Hopefully we can be more precise in the final third.”