Sam Allardyce says his players “are giving me everything” as he called for Everton to impress in their final home of the season to extend their unbeaten run.
The Blues have taken 14 points from the past 21 available – their only defeat in their previous seven matches coming against runaway Premier League champions Manchester City.
Everton have also conceded just a single goal in their past four outings to strengthen their grip on eighth place in the table.
Allardyce, who revealed Mason Holgate is back training after ankle surgery but Dominic Calvert-Lewin (back) remains out, praised his squad for their commitment since he took charge in late November and for “not switching off” during their run-in.
Now, with relegation battlers Southampton the visitors on Saturday for the final home match of the campaign, the Blues boss wants his men to put on a show at Goodison, where they have collected 24 points from a possible 36 since Allardyce sat in the dugout for the first time in the 2-0 win over Huddersfield on 2 December.
“Asking the players to commit has been something they have taken up from day one and I think we have improved the level of the team consistently,” said Allardyce. “Players are giving everything they have which is why the results are where they are and where our position in the league tells us we’ve done that.
“All the first-team squad and staff have pushed us in the right direction and we have got ourselves in a favourable position in the league and we want to finish the next two games undefeated.
“We have room for improvement, we are always trying to improve, and I think there will be a big performance again tomorrow at 5.30, and hope it's another win.
He added: “I give the lads a lot of credit for not switching off. To push on and win matches is always important. We have seen teams that have dipped off before and we haven’t, and I hope that is the case in the next two games.”
The Blues will take on a Southampton side desperate for points to move out of the relegation zone.
The Saints gained a vital 2-1 win over Bournemouth at St Mary’s last weekend. But with Mark Hughes’ still a point off the safety mark with three games left to play, Allardyce warned they will be a threat tomorrow.
“We’ve got such a difficult game tomorrow because of the victory they had last week against Bournemouth,” added the Everton manager. “It gave them a real lifeline and we’re facing a team that is going to be fighting tooth and nail to try to get a result.
“We’ve got to try to stop that and win the game.”
