Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has challenged his teammates to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Merseyside rivals Liverpool when they face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.
The Toffees' preparation for Saturday's Wembley showdown could not have gone much worse as they were convincingly beaten at Anfield having been reduced to 10 men early in the second half.
Barry, who was forced off at half time due to a groin injury, admitted that the defeat was hard to take, but hopes that the magnitude of Saturday's match will make it easy to switch their focus to the future.
"It's a derby defeat which are always tough to take, especially so convincing. There's always another game and we are lucky that it's a big one. We have to focus on the game on Saturday," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"We didn't lay a glove on them in the second half. I felt my groin at the end of the first half. Fingers crossed I can get through but you never know.
"It's a huge game for the club at the weekend and we have got some more injuries. Sometimes these things happen for a reason."
Everton are now winless in their last seven Premier League games, picking up three points from a possible 21 in that time.
Barney Corkhill
