Everton boss Marco Silva has admitted that the Toffees aren’t yet quite ready to challenge for the top six.
The Blues went into the 2018/19 season with renewed optimism after ditching the drab football of the Sam Allardyce era for the more progressive football of Marco Silva.
However, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down season so far for Everton, who, after 20 games, have won seven, drawn six, and lost seven, a run which leaves them down in 10th, eight points behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
Speaking ahead of today’s game against Leicester, Marco Silva has said that while they will continue to ‘fight’, the club isn’t realistically in a position to challenge for a place in the top six.
“We as a club did not say once that we will challenge for the top six,” Silva said in his pre-match press conference.
“It’s not a lack of ambition because we have big ambitions as a club, but we have to be honest and fair and look at the other clubs, with the budgets they have as well.
“If we can fight for something, we will fight. If we have conditions to fight for something we will fight as well. But we have to be smart in these type of things.
“If you are an ambitious club and want to win always, you have to create the conditions so in the future you can fight with this top six like you want.”