Several players have laid out their thoughts on the bid to get into Europe – and when they started to think it was a realistic target
Iliman Ndiaye celebrates scoring his Everton’s third goal with teammates during the Premier League win over Chelsea at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Everton’s push for Europe may have surprised many outside the club given the struggles it has endured over recent seasons.
For those at Finch Farm, it has always been a target – one made to feel realistic through the encouragement of David Moyes. In his first press conference upon his return in January 2025 he mentioned European football as less of a dream and more of an expected destination.
His players bought into the idea and, with seven games to go, there is plenty of belief Everton can reach that goal – an idea bolstered by the hammering of Chelsea before the international break.
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Moyes conceded after that match the halt in domestic football may have arrived at a bad time given the heights reached in the display at Hill Dickinson. But it has not undermined the belief in the squad that everything remains to play for heading into the run-in, which starts at Brentford – their biggest rivals in the battle to be the upstart that breaks into the top seven in a turbulent season.
For proof that Moyes’ expectations run through his squad, this is what they have been saying over recent weeks in interviews with club media and the ECHO. In the thoughts of Dwight McNeil, the season has to be taken step by step – the approach that has led his return to prominence since the collapse of his move to Crystal Palace in February.
He said: “I think a big emphasis came from the gaffer in pre-season. We’re trying to look up rather than down. Now, with the position that we’re in, I think we’re just taking it a game at a time. We want to get into Europe, but the focus is the game at the time.”
For Jordan Pickford, the dream is clear and realising it starts at the Gtech on Saturday. He said: “Seven games left and the manager will be pushing game by game now. We’re not going to look at Tottenham away on the last day or anything like that, we’re going to be focused on our next one – Brentford away next week. Hopefully we’ll get the Toffees in Europe.”
Two of Everton’s centre backs, Jarrad Branthwaite and Michael Keane, have stressed that Europe was established as a goal back in pre-season. Branthwaite explained: “We – as a collective – have made no secret that our goal this season is to get back into a European competition. It’s an ambitious one after some tough years but we all believe we have the quality to do so and the target is still there for us as we approach the final part of the season.
“It’s right that we keep looking up now, and keep setting targets that move us forward as a club. It felt like the beginning of a new chapter heading into this season: a new home, our new owners, the manager beginning his first full season since returning.”
And Keane told the ECHO last week: “It’s been our target since the start of the season and we’ve got ourselves in a position with seven games to go where we’ve got a real chance. I think the next two games are huge for us.
“Brentford away and Liverpool at home – if we come away from them with some good results then we’re right in the picture and anything can happen. So yeah, we’re looking forward to it. We’re excited by it.”
James Garner, meanwhile, was even more adamant than Keane about what the squad had hoped to achieve. Before departing Merseyside for his England debut, he was asked whether Europe had been a target. He said: “1,000% it always has been. The Premier League is such a crazy league and you’ve seen this season anything can happen. There’s teams that people think shouldn’t be down at the bottom and there’s teams that are up at the top that people think shouldn’t be there. The Premier League is so crazy and I knew that we had a strong enough team to be competing for the top six and hopefully getting in the European spots.”
Echoing McNeil’s call for an incremental approach Beto, fresh from his brace in the win over Chelsea that has set Everton up for an enthralling run-in, he said: “It was a must-win game. The team needed to win for Europe. David Moyes has this objective. We have this objective. We just have to go game by game and win by win. [Chelsea] was really good. A clean sheet and we are all happy to get the three points. For me, it was really good. I was waiting for this moment.”
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