Phil Jagielka insists Everton need to be in a similar position of strength as Tottenham when everyone's fit.
Centre-half wants Toffees to follow Spurs blueprint
Phil Jagielka insists Everton need to be in a similar position of strength as Tottenham Hotspur when everyone in the squad is fit.
The Toffees defender admits the Merseysiders were surprised by how Saturday's opponents Spurs responded after going a goal down to Leighton Baines' free-kick in their Premier League encounter.
Harry Redknapp's men had played arguably the biggest game of the club's recent history in midweek when they went to the San Siro to play out a 4-3 defeat to UEFA Champions League holders Inter Milan.
But the North Londoners fought back from going a goal down at the weekend to claim a 1-1 draw and dispel suggestions their star-studded ensemble could not cope with the rigours of both European and domestic football.
And Jagielka believes Everton must adapt to a squad rotation system like Tottenham if they are to emulate the success of their top-four rivals.
He told
The Liverpool Echo: "It's a different mindset and a different skill. Most of the players are used to playing week in, week out and it's different when you're not. To come in then and still perform is a skill. That's what the top players do though.
"They might not play for three weeks, or have a game on and off. It's not only switching on mentally, it's physically as well.
"The demands of the Premier League are really high, especially if you're not playing and getting your sharpness. If you've got such a big squad and it's being rotated, there are extra pressures on the players.
"It's totally different, but hopefully with a fully fit squad and maybe adding a few, we'll get to those levels."
Bleak
Jagielka, who put on a commanding display at White Hart Lane, is not overly concerned by the injury list that is growing at Everton.
He said: "We would have liked to hold onto our lead a bit longer, but it's a point away from home against a side playing Champions League football.
"If you add up both of our squads they'd be a million miles away price wise, but we're happy with what we've got.
"We've got a lot of injuries at the moment, the squad is thinner than we'd like, but we've still got enough to get out a good team.
"I'm not too worried about the injury front. Now we've lost a few lads for four to six weeks, where last season it was four and six months at a time.
"It was a shame to lose Ross (Barkley) for such a long time, but we're getting Victor (Anichebe), Jack (Rodwell) and Mikel (Arteta) back soon. And it's not like we've just had a bench full of kids. We had Louis (Saha) and Hibbo (Tony Hibbert) coming off the bench at Spurs.
"It's not as bleak as it has been. Sometimes it helps when the gaffer has not got a lot to choose from. It allows for a bit of continuity. We're a good bunch of lads, and we'll dig in when the going gets tough and continue on four good results."
Despite missing England's last Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro, due to a hamstring injury, Jagielka believes his body is in not danger of succumbing to niggles.
The centre-half added: "I've had a little cyst on the other side of my knee, but it's nothing major.
"It was my hamstring with England and we had a scan and realised the damage wasn't as bad as we first feared.
"So it was up to me and the medical team, whether we tried it for the derby. Thankfully the decision we made was okay."
