PHIL NEVILLE admits Everton need to rediscover their “mental toughness” after another worryingly slipshod defensive display on Tuesday night.

The Goodison outfit’s pre-season preparations suffered a setback when they slipped to an avoidable 2-1 defeat at Coca-Cola Championship side Blackpool.

It came just two days after defensive mistakes undermined an otherwise encouraging performance at Coventry City and consigned Everton to a 2-2 draw.

David Moyes’s side have yet to keep a clean sheet during a warm-up programme that ends tomorrow evening with the visit of Spanish side Malaga.

And with the Premier League opener against Arsenal just nine days away, Neville accepts Everton need to improve their defending if they are to rekindle the form that saw them finish fifth and reach the FA Cup final last season.

“It is tough, but that’s pre-season for you,” said the Goodison skipper. “At the moment it’s easy for other teams to score against us which is something that we need to eradicate.

“It’s not something you can turn on like a tap next Saturday come Arsenal, and at this moment in time we’re probably physically a little bit soft.

“We need to get back to the mental toughness that we showed last season. I’m sure over the next few days, and leading up to the Arsenal game we’ll be working hard at that.

“We pride ourselves on our defensive solidity, and it’s probably not been there this pre-season yet.”

Already missing long-term injury victim Phil Jagielka, who is expected to be sidelined until November, Everton have been without Joleon Lescott for the last two games, with Jack Rodwell partnering Joseph Yobo at the heart of defence.