Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes Sunday 's 2-1 win at QPR proves the Toffees do have the fighting qualities to win ugly when they need to . Aaron Lennon sank Rangers with a 77th-minute winner to move Everton up to 13th in the Barclays Premier League and nine points clear of the relegation places . Everton have been accused of being too soft this season after failing to replicate last year 's fifth-place finish , but Osman insists they showed their mettle with a battling display at Loftus Road . Leon Osman believes Everton 's win over QPR on Sunday shows the Toffees can win ugly when needed . Osman points at goalscorer Seamus Coleman after the defender had fired Everton ahead at Loftus Road . 'Certain games sometimes call for certain styles of play and the way the game goes dictates how you end up playing , ' Osman said . 'Every time we lost the ball it was sent up to the edge of our box so we had to fight and scrap for second balls . 'It was a scrappy match defensively but we proved we can do that side of the game and then once you 've done that , you have the opportunity to hit teams on the counter attack , which we tried to do . 'There was probably not as much football played as we usually like but there 's no problem winning like that as well . ' Aaron Lennon ( left ) celebrates after scoring the winning goal for Everton against Queens Park Rangers . The victory was Everton 's second in a row in the league and saw Roberto Martinez 's side bounce back from a disappointing 5-2 Europa League defeat to Dynamo Kiev on Thursday . 'It was a massive win for us after we suffered a big disappointment in the week , ' Osman continued . 'It has n't quite happened in the league this season so to put back-to-back wins together was really important for us . 'We were terrific at the back , especially Phil Jagielka . I thought he was at his best and we dealt with all their situations quite well . The winger slots home the crucial goal to move the Toffees closer to safety with the win at Loftus Road . 'It was always going to be difficult with the pitch as it is and with the way they played . 'They made it difficult for us but we stood up to that challenge head on and came away with a victory . 'We 've still got eight games left and we 're going to concentrate on those games now and just see how many points we can pick up . '
Everton beat QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road in the Premier League on Sunday . The Toffees have won their last three games and are top of the table with a game to go before they host Manchester United next weekend.