Everton boss David Moyes bristles at claims the club has gone as far as it can.
He insists his appetite to succeed remains as strong as ever and rounded on claims that Everton have hit a glass ceiling.
"It is insulting to Everton to say the club has gone as far as they can go because this is a club where we always have to find ways of moving forward," said Moyes, who celebrated 11 years in charge at Goodison on Thursday.
"I don't think the result last week was anything to do with tactics or motivation or anything else. If people are talking about a lack of ambition from me or the players then I'll really love to know what their definition of ambition is.
"All year I've tried to bang the drum to finish fourth and win a cup. I am driven to succeed and so are the players so I will need them to explain to me what they mean."