“A relief? It’s just nice to get three points,” he added. “It was two completely different halves. In the first we were in control and when we scored we kept the ball well. We were comfortable.

“In the second half they were much more dominant and we have been a lot more shaky.

“It’s not the first time we’ve struggled in the second half so we have to find a solution for that, but at least we had a really good half, and three points.

“Obviously the confidence has been a bit low. We’ve been on a run of seven games without a win.

“Even if you pretend you’re not affected you do think about it. And if you do think about it, then maybe you’re not as positive or comfortable as you should be.”

Everton were again missing a host of players through injury but Distin admits the poor run of form could not be excused by the lengthy absence list.

“We can complain about having a lack of bodies but that won’t get you more points in the league,” added the Frenchman.

“We have to focus on the players we’ve got and fingers crossed we’ll get some players back. We’ve got enough quality right now to get better results.

“The international break may be coming at a good time for us. But then it depends who comes back from it!

“It’s okay for people like me who don’t play , but others might come back tired.”

Those Everton players not involved in the forthcoming international break are now expected to head for the Lake District for a team bonding session.

And Distin said: “We’re going to the Lake District? I heard the West Indies! No, I don’t know. But wherever we go we’re going to work hard. It’s not a holiday. We’re going to work hard and then have a few days to recover. At Everton, in the international break you work twice as hard.”