Last Updated: Mon, 04 Feb 2013 10:22
Phil Jagielka has backed John Heitinga to fight his way back after he admitted having his 'worst game ever' against Aston Villa.
The Dutch defender was playing at centre-half alongside Sylvain Distin with Jagielka pushed out to right back for the second game running and, following his error against West Brom which led to Shane Long scoring, he was again culpable against Villa.
Heitinga, signed from Atletico Madrid in 2009, said after the match on his Twitter account: "Played worst game ever in the shirt of Everton. Let teammates and fans down but they never let me down.
"Will work hard to come back strong."
Jagielka has backed his team-mate to do just that, and he told the Echo: "We have all had one of those games when nothing seems to go right.
"In the end I think he'll be thankful, like the rest of us, that we at least got a point.
"It's difficult. He got player of the season last year and had a really strong second half of the season - especially with the cup run which meant he rightly got that award.
"But nobody is assured of their place in this team, and coming back to pre-season the manager obviously had ideas who he was and wasn't going to play - and some people have done really well when they've got an opportunity, while some people haven't had the opportunities they would have liked.
"It's just the way football goes.
"I'm sure Johnny is frustrated that he is not getting the amount of games he would have liked."
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