Dean Ashton is looking to react positively to the pain of Carling Cup defeat when Everton come calling again in league action on Saturday.
Speaking to WHUTV, Ashton told how the aim within the team was to quickly put the 2-1 quarter-final loss behind them and stay riding high in the table. The 24-year-old striker was making his first start since 6 October, having impressed off the bench in the three previous fixtures.
He said: "We have got to react now in a positive way coming here on Saturday and put on a better performance for the fans. We have got to try and get a result to, at least a little bit, rectify the disappointment of going out in the quarter-final of a cup."
Ashton added that he expected better personally on Wednesday, having done so well as a half-time replacement in Sunday's fine 1-0 win at Blackburn Rovers when he scored the only goal of the game. It was his fourth strike of the season and the signs were good for him in midweek to make an impact alongside the in-form Carlton Cole.
"After getting 45 minutes on Sunday, and feeling like I did well, I was really looking forward to the game and hopefully putting in a good performance," he said. "I am one of those that has got to hold my hands up and say my touch wasn't good enough, bringing people into play wasn't good enough and I have got to compete more."
Reflecting on the team performance as a whole, he said: "We all know that it wasn't good enough. After we did well to score the first goal we then sat back and let them come into the game. We started brightly, had a few half-chances and then got a good goal. We probably sat back a little bit and then we never got ourselves going for the rest of the game. When you do that you are always likely to concede."