Neville admits Everton turnaround down to January signings

Everton skipper Phil Neville says their sudden form surge has come from the lift January's new signings have made.

Darron Gibson and Landon Donovan - albeit the latter only on a short-term loan - arrived early in the month before the late captures of Steven Pienaar and striker Nikica Jelavic, who missed out on Saturday through injury.

Neville said: "At the training ground there is a bounce in everyone's step, the manager is bouncing and the players are all confident.

"There is a real competition for places now and no-one is guaranteed a place.

"All of a sudden you are thinking we are beginning to look like a powerful squad again and that is why the performance levels have been raised."