My Squad After Transfer Window

So I'm on a journeyman save, 4th season, 4th club. The previous 3 clubs were all mediocre with no real expectation and no money etc. Done the best I could, anyone could, and then eventually got fired for one reason or another. Then I joined Everton in March, they were 17th, I won all but one game, which we lost to man city, and we finished 7th qualifying for europe. Signed 7 players in the following window - all but one were fringe players.

a few games into the league I lose to chelsea 4-2 away. Then draw with wolves, then lose to someone else. All of a sudden my players start losing their confidence in me, they start failing to motivate themselves for me, my once prolific strike force can't shoot for ****, my defence go back to the fm standard (incomprehensibly *****)

I was basically wondering firstly, why on earth my players are behaving that way? And secondly, what on earth I'm supposed to do about it?

I have good staff, all my training is 3.5-4.5

If you get a spare week or so, organise a friendly with a lower league team that you'll thrash with no effort to get the spirits up, that usually helps