Is Champions League the target?

Just what is the target for Everton this season?

The good start to the season is so unusual for us in recent years that it's very difficult to be positive about what can be achieved in November.

Usually we don't start playing until around this time of the year and normally put together a good run which sees us just miss out on Europe.

If we managed to maintain that form, or even the form we've shown so far this year until May just what might we achieve?

Bryan Oviedo clearly thinks that a top four finish should be the target.

"It is very important for us to win this weekend because we what to stay in the top places. We need to win to keep close to the Champions League positions. he told The Echo.

Now of course the 22-year-old who recently made the move to Goodison Park from Copenhagen has the benefit of not knowing just how poor our recent starts to the season have been and his fresh outlook on the squad is a better reflection than my, perhaps negative stance based on nothing but previous frustrations of years gone by.

He added: "we have a very good team, very strong defenders and good players in midfield and attack.

"The team has a strong mentality. We have come back from being 1-0 and 2-0 down in recent games and the team is very united."

All sounds great, but I still can't help to wonder when our bad run of form is coming. Three draws to Wigan, QPR and Liverpool, three games we really should have been winning, have seen us drop from second to fifth.

The next four games are crucial if this seasons target is European qualification of any kind.

Fulham, Sunderland, Reading and Norwich. We have to be looking at a minimum of eight points from those games. Especially when you take a look at the five week spell of games from the end of this month through December.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea are all coming up before the turn of the year and we have to be well placed before we reach that run of games.

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