Full debutant Ben Godfrey has set out his determination to seize every opportunity to develop his game at Everton - as he echoed manager Carlo Ancelotti’s call for the Blues to retain confidence despite suffering a first defeat of the 2020/21 campaign.

Everton kicked off the season with seven victories and one draw but saw their unbeaten run ended by Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday.

The Blues remain top of the Premier League table and return to action against Newcastle United this weekend.

Godfrey – who primarily operates as a central defender – made his Everton bow as a substitute in Everton’s 2-2 Merseyside derby draw at Goodison Park on 17 October, filling in at right-back after Seamus Coleman was forced off with a hamstring injury.

The England Under-21 international then made his first start for the Club and played the full 90 minutes in that position at Southampton.

Godfrey revealed his hunger to improve with each game and training session at Everton – and outlined his belief the Blues can embark on another strong run of form.

“I use every single occasion I can to learn,” said Godfrey.

“I’ll always give 100 per cent for the team.

“Right-back’s obviously a different position for me, but I’m enjoying my football. It’s just a shame I couldn’t top off my first start for Everton with a win.

“But we can’t let that result damage our confidence.

“Overall, we’ve had a good start to the season and we can’t let this get us down.

“We’ve got to move on swiftly and take our good start to the season into the next fixtures.”

After Everton came within fractions of taking the lead at Southampton when Gylfi Sigurdsson cracked a shot against the crossbar, the home side broke the deadlock through James Ward-Prowse on 27 minutes.

The Saints doubled their advantage when Che Adams lashed in from close range soon after.

Everton's hopes of mounting a comeback were all but dashed 18 minutes from time when left-back Lucas Digne was sent off.

Defender Godfrey, who joined the Toffees from Norwich City on transfer deadline day, is convinced the squad possesses the collective resilience to hit straight back at Newcastle this coming Sunday.

He added: “We go into every game wanting three points. It [the Southampton game] was just one of those days, it wasn’t to be.

“There was a bit of sloppiness in our performance, which is not like us.

“Credit to Southampton, they took their chances.

“It’s painful to lose, but we have to get over it fast and focus on the next game.”