Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson is confident of staying away from the dropzone.

Defeat to Everton means the Eagles have still not won since beating West Ham on Boxing Day, a run that has seen them slip to 14th.

They remain six points clear of the drop zone, though that gap could close by the time all fixtures across a gameweek extended by the midseason break have been played, and Hodgson is aware of the need to get back to winning ways.

“I can't fault the players' effort," Hodgson told the BBC. “But it's another defeat and another we go home without points despite the fact we didn't play that badly and perhaps deserved something.

"We know what we have to do. When we moved the ball quickly we asked questions and were close to getting more than one goal. The result colours any sort of judgement, so it's difficult to see the game as clear as you would like.

"We have enough in our locker to make sure we get the points we need, but the sooner that happens the happier we'll all be."