Leon Osman insists Everton will not be distracted by events at Liverpool as they prepare for Sunday's derby.
Everton midfielder ready for derby duel
Leon Osman insists Everton will not be distracted by the off-field events at Liverpool as they prepare for Sunday's Merseyside derby.
The local rivals go head-to-head this weekend with the Reds under new management after Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish was installed in the hot-seat until the end of the season following Roy Hodgson's exit.
Dalglish's first game in charge ended in defeat as 10-man Liverpool went down 1-0 to Manchester United in their FA Cup third round clash, with skipper Steven Gerrard dismissed in the first half and now ruled out of the derby through suspension.
The Merseyside duo are both in the bottom half of the congested Premier League table, locked together on 25 points and only four above the drop zone, with the Toffees edging ahead of their near neighbours on goal difference.
David Moyes' men make the short trip across Stanley Park to Anfield buoyed by back-to-back victories, having defeated Tottenham in Premier League action before dismantling Scunthorpe 5-1 in the FA Cup to earn a fourth round home meeting with holders Chelsea.
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And midfielder Osman, who skippered Everton in the absence of Phil Neville at the weekend, has called on his team-mates to ignore the Dalglish-factor to focus on their own performance.
He told the
Liverpool Echo: "We are really looking forward to it, it is our next game.
"Hopefully with a little bit of confidence we've got now going into it we can get the right result.
"I am sure the change of manager will affect them in a way but there is nothing we can do about that.
"We have got to concentrate on ourselves, take no notice of what is happening off the field there and go there and put on a show that we know we are capable of."
