Louis Saha: Merseyside derby can ease Everton's Carling Cup pain

Everton are clearly out of sorts at present, but Saha feels there is more than enough talent in the squad to lift them out of this lull and feels, with the help of home advantage, they can start putting things right sooner rather than later.

"It was a very disappointing night," said Saha. "The only positive we can take from the game is a reaction to put it right. We are determined to do that, as we know we did not play well against Blackburn.

"Credit to Blackburn. They had a game plan and they stuck to it. It wasn't as if we were playing at home against a team that we should have beaten, but we still feel that we should have done much better.

"I know we are a hard working team and when we are faced with games like this (against Liverpool) we usually take the opportunity to show that. It was a difficult night but we still have new players adapting to things here. It has been a bit of a rush.

"We wanted to have some more games to get to know to each other but we have been denied that now by losing to Blackburn. We thought this was a good opportunity to win a trophy, so it is all the more disappointing to have gone out so soon."

Having arrived at Goodison with a calf problem last month, the ex-Manchester United striker was pleased to make his first Everton start - and was equally thrilled to get through 90 minutes for the first time since December 29.

There were also signs, as was the case in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Hull City, of him forming a good partnership with Ayegbeni Yakubu. But Saha's only concern for the moment is helping Everton regain the winning thread.

"It was nice to get 90 minutes under my belt," said Saha. "I still need some time to adapt but I am quite happy with my fitness.

"There were good signs between myself and Yak, but again it is going to take time. The main thing is the team. It's not just about our partnership. We are both just interested in doing our best for everyone here."