Phil Jagielka has insisted that he and his Everton teammates remain fully behind under-fire manager Roberto Martinez.
The Toffees went down 2-0 to struggling Hull City on Thursday in a result that represents their fourth successive Premier League defeat.
They now sit 13th in the table, 15 points adrift in the race for a top-four finish, but Jagielka says that the playing staff should shoulder some of the blame for their plight this season.
"We're massively behind him," he told the Liverpool Echo. "You see pundits, newspapers or social media but things haven't gone from hero to zero in the space of nine games.
"At the end of the day we go out there to play and if we don't pick up results, the manager will take a bit of the blame but the players have to go out there and perform.
"We've got a lot to answer for and the only way we can make it up to the fans is by winning games."
Martinez led the Merseysiders to the brink of Champions League qualification last season, before being made to settle for a Europa League spot.
Shane Callaghan
