Brian Sorensen believes his team needs to be more clinical if they’re to pick up important results moving forwards.

The Everton manager spoke after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. A quick opener from the visitors saw the Blues trail in the opening minutes, before a second-half own goal sealed the disappointing defeat.

Speaking to evertontv after the game, Sorensen said: "We were not sharp enough overall in the things we were trying to do. They had a bit of a lucky goal in the second half which killed the game.

"But we were not sharp enough in terms of producing enough chances and being sharp on the ball."

Although unhappy with the result, he reinforced the need to stick to their principles and to believe in what they’re doing.

"It’s disappointing but we need to still believe in what we’re doing in the long term," he added.

"Games like this will happen and unfortunately, we had one today.

"We looked okay in the last period of the game, but the result was fair.

"We need to look to see how we can improve.

"We didn’t look as sharp as I expected. In the week, we looked good but the game is another thing."

Everton return to action next weekend with a trip to the Midlands to face Leicester City on Sunday 12 March (3pm GMT).

While the Blues boss expects a fiercely competitive encounter against a side eager to move up the table, Sorensen is confident that his squad have enough to return to winning ways.

"We need to bounce back against Leicester, and I’m sure we will. We just have to digest this one and learn from it."