Everton assistant manager Duncan Ferguson has hailed the “fighting spirit” and “great attitude” in the Toffees’ squad which he feels has been key to them securing two inspired results in the last week – but he also picked out an area of major concern.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Scottish deputy was keen to iterate the stoic resolve of his side but noted that defending from set pieces is a concern which needs addressing.

With potentially bruising fixtures imminent against reigning champions and arch-rivals Liverpool, as well as league leaders Manchester City on a 15-match winning streak, Ferguson knows that Everton’s defence could face a strenuous challenge in the coming days.

Speaking via the club’s official website after the dramatic cup triumph over Spurs, the Everton assistant boss was frank and fair in his assessment:

Fair play to the players, they’ve dug in and showed a good fighting spirit. It was a bit nerve-wracking in the dugout as you can imagine!

Obviously the defences struggled tonight and we particularly struggled on set plays, which is a wee bit of a worry. We’re normally quite strong on them but tonight Tottenham did well and they were strong on the counter-attack as well.

But we’re delighted and we obviously congratulated [the players]. They were fantastic tonight, fought right to the end, and to score five goals is brilliant, a great attacking performance.

Read Everton Verdict

A 3-3 draw against Manchester United and a 5-4 win over Tottenham are indeed standout results, but Everton cannot rely on outscoring elite opposition.

Manchester City have scored 43 goals in just 22 league games, whilst the Toffees’ local nemeses have 44 in 23. To say that they are free-flowing sides when at their best is an understatement, even if Liverpool have struggled of late.

The Everton defence will need to be at its best if they are to pick up a result against either of the last two Premier League champions next week, so Ferguson is right to pinpoint this as an area of concern.