Phil Jagielka has said that losing at home for the first time in 2013 has proved a relief to Everton.
The club came within two games of completing the calendar year without suffering a defeat at Goodison Park, but lost 1-0 to Sunderland yesterday.
The captain told the team's official website: "Maybe that's a little monkey off our backs and we can go out and play well on Sunday, get those three points and climb back up the table.
"It shows the character in the dressing room that we created quite a few decent chances and unfortunately for us we came up against a goalkeeper in some fantastic form. We certainly gave it a good go."
The Toffees host Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.
