Sam Allardyce: "We will persevere"

Everton manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that his side "gifted" their opposition goals this afternoon as they lost out 2-1 at Bournemouth.

Ryan Fraser was the hero for the hosts, scoring either side of an Idrissa Gueye strike to inflict a first defeat upon Allardyce since his arrival at Goodison Park at the end of November.

The Toffees were on a seven-game unbeaten run prior to their trip to the south coast, but speaking after the game, Allardyce paid tribute to a "great" month of games overall.

"We gifted them the goals with sloppy possession," he told reporters. "We have been the victim of our own errors which is disappointing. We must eliminate those simple errors.

"When we did play in the right areas we could have created more. Overall it is disappointing.

"The squad is trying to get fitter, we have players coming back from injury it's a bit of a struggle at the moment. We will persevere. It was a great run which has come to an end."

Next up for Everton is a home encounter with Jose Mourinho's Manchester United on Monday evening.