Phil Neville says Everton FC driven by competition to play

Phil Neville 300PHIL NEVILLE believes a fear of being benched will force Everton's first team into a strong Premier League finish.The Toffees skipper claims a renewed competition for places is behind the transformation of David Moyes' side since Christmas.The return of Everton's injured players has coincided with a surge in form, which has seen the Blues gather an impressive 28 points in the second half of the campaign and establish a nine-game unbeaten run at home.And Neville believes his teammates will not let up as the summer break approaches - because they can easily lose their place.He said: 'Since Christmas we have had 22 players training - we have had two players vying for every position and that ups the quality of the training and, as a result, the performance levels on a matchday.'Everybody knew the ability in the squad but in the first half of the season we had major injuries, there was a lack of competition and when you only have 11 players training it is not a good recipe.'In the first half of the season, we were feeling a little sorry for ourselves with so many people out injured. Mikel was out, Phil Jagielka was out, I was out, Victor Anichebe out. We had all these long-term injuries but then, all of a sudden, three or four start coming back into training and the confidence came back into the team.

Source: Liverpool_Echo