Phil Jagielka comments on Everton’s defence providing a platform for their forwards

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Everton have had a positive start to the season and currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has called on the side’s back six or seven to provide the platform for their front four to produce the goods for them this season, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Jagielka feels the current side is blessed with attacking talent and can be allowed to do their job in the final third if the rest of the side remains solid defensively.

The Everton skipper feels the back four, goalkeeper and two holding midfielders have a big role to play, and is quoted in the Liverpool Echo saying: “If you look at it as a back six or seven and include the keeper with Gaz and Gana.

“And then look at the players ahead of them, our destructive players, if they turn up on the day they are nearly impossible to keep a hold of.

“That is the role we’ve got now, we need to make sure we give them the platform and when they do come up with the magic it wins us the game.”

Gareth Barry and Idrissa Gueye have done an excellent job so far this season in offering protection in front of the back four and allowing the side to express themselves in the final third.

Everton certainly have plenty of pace and power in the final third. Romelu Lukaku’s stock continues to rise whenever he finds the net, while Yannick Bolasie, Kevin Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu are all very quick players who can either be goalscorers or providers for the team and are very tricky for opposition defenders to deal with. Ross Barkley may have struggled for form this season but if he finds it he can be more than a handful.

It was perhaps the downfall of Everton last season that their unit was not so solid behind players that contained a lot of firepower. This season they seem more compact defensively and have yet to concede more than one goal in a Premier League game so far this season. Clearly, it has been an area Ronald Koeman has been working on.

There is, of course, still room for improvement, and their defeat to Bournemouth was a reminder of that on the back of what has been a very positive start for the Toffees.