Ben Godfrey believes Everton must start games quicker than they did in the “below-par” performance against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

A Conor Gallagher brace and James Tomkins’ close-range effort meant Salomon Rondon’s first goal for the Blues counted for nothing at Selhurst Park.

The busy festive schedule kicks up a notch this week, with a trip to Chelsea and a home game against Leicester City taking place in the space of four days.

And, frustrated Everton were unable to build momentum following a stirring win over Arsenal, Godfrey believes the Toffees must make a concerted effort to begin upcoming matches with more intensity.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” he told evertontv. “We’re disappointed we didn’t start the way we wanted to start.

“We came into the game with confidence we took from the result on Monday and although it’s a difficult place to come, we’re gutted we didn’t get anything from the game.

“We managed to get back in the game but it was a lot later than we would have liked. We should start the game at that tempo.

“We’ve got to bounce back as soon as possible because we’ve got another very tough game coming up.

“We know the standards we set ourselves and that was below par. We’re gutted about that. But we’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again.

“The Christmas period is tough, we know that, but we’ve got good staff here to help us recover and take us into the next game. We’ll be ready.”

Discussing his role as left-back in the past two games, Godfrey added: “It’s not my natural position but if I’m needed to play there then I’ll give it my all and do my best.

"It’s not a problem.

“Of course you’ve got to defend but you’ve also got to get forward when you can. Sometimes it doesn’t come as naturally to me but I keep trying to improve in that area and I’ll do everything to chip in with goals and assists - anything to help the team."