Everton midfielder Stephen Pienaar admits he struggles to handle the workload over Christmas.

The South African international told evertonTV: "It's been really tough for me to play so many games in so little time. I'm just trying to get fitter every time I play, because the fitter I am the better I play. But Christmas in England is like playing in a tournament!

"It was really good for us to get the three points (at Boro) and important to stay in the top half of the league. Every point is important to us and we definitely have to set things straight at home. Home for is important if you want to start playing European football.

"If you look at the way Sunderland have played in the last few games it's going to be tough. They need the points but so do we and we need to put things right at home come Sunday.

"If we keep on winning I think the confidence will come back to the team. We just have to keep going."