Emi Martínez says Aston Villa are up for the challenge of reversing their recent form at Everton on Saturday.
A trip to Goodison Park follows a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats against Leicester City, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Villa’s No1 is backing his teammates to step up and put that sequence to bed with a strong showing on Merseyside.
He said: “We had good momentum and then we lost three in a row – this is the Premier League, the toughest league in the world.
“We’re going to go there with confidence, knowing that if we win we position ourselves closer to the top ten.
“We know it’s not going to be easy; it’s going to be a war, but we’re up for it.”
Martínez’s meticulous attention to detail and high standards mean that the goalkeeper is far from happy with conceding 11 times in the past three matches.
The Argentine says he shoulders the blame for shots that find the back of Villa’s net but that he is not looking backwards in his efforts to help the club finish the season strongly.
“I’m the first one that can’t sleep. I look at myself and think ‘oh my god, 11 goals in three games’,” he said.
“But I never see the small picture, I always see the big picture. Since Unai came in, we’ve been solid defensively and not conceding many goals.
“Before these 11 goals, I was top five in the least amount of goals conceded in the league.
“We’ve got 15 games left and we need to try and concede less than 15 goals. I always challenge myself.
“I don’t see the fact that I’ve conceded 11 goals; I always think about what I’m going to do next.”
