Everton skipper Phil Jagielka says it's time for the players to man up.

The Blues slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City to extend their run of form to just one Premier League win in the last 12.

"The fans were great tonight. It has been a difficult season to watch us because the performances have not been as good as last season," Jagielka told the Liverpool Echo.

"They are going to vent their frustrations, it is normally the manager that gets it as he is head of the food chain.

"But, we as players know we need to buck our ideas up, start performing better and take pressure off him, pressure off ourselves and start getting some more points."