Everton boss Frank Lampard wants his players to show their "personality" tonight against Newcastle United.
Victory for Everton would take them to within two points of the Magpies and Lampard believes the Blues boast the strength of character to quickly recover from the disappointment of defeats to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference at Finch Farm, Lampard said: “The players have to be robust and keep their confidence.
“We are stronger than we were last season. We're different.
“At the moment, with the feeling we have, I don't think we'll be disrupted by the two defeats. Behind closed doors, can we analyse those games and be better? For sure. But we have to have belief in ourselves.
“Newcastle are a robust, hard-working team and I always admire those attributes in a team. We feel we have those [qualities] as well.
“We know we are steps behind of where they are, but there is a level of optimism around here because people see little shoots of improvement.
“This will be very tough match in front of us. It's an evening game in front of a tough crowd.
“There will always be a big atmosphere, so let's show some personality there."