Everton defender Sylvain Distin has revealed that various people around the club would rather see the Blues miss out on Champions League football if it thwarted Liverpool's title challenge.

Roberto Martinez's side beat Arsenal 3-0 on Sunday to close the gap on the fourth-placed Gunners to one point in the Premier League.

However, Distin claimed that some staff are hoping that their local rivals' title charge fails, even if it means that the Toffees fail to qualify for Europe's premier competition.

The Blues are still to host Manchester City, and The Mirror quotes the Frenchman as saying: "We've spoken about it with some of the staff and said, 'What if we have to beat City to be in the Champions League, but by doing that Liverpool win the league?'

"The funny thing is some people would rather we don't get Champions League as long as they don't win the league. It's mad!"

Martinez's men travel to Sunderland on Saturday.