Everton forward Steven
Naismith believes his side’s mixed fortunes this season have been a steep
learning curve and have provided the players with vital experience for
next campaign.
The Toffees pushed Arsenal all the way for Champions League
qualification in 2013/2014, earning a Europa League slot which has subsequently
debilitated their Premier League
performances this season.
Roberto Martinez’s side sit a disappointing 12th with just
seven games left as they turn their focus to a top-ten finish, and Naismith
underlines the demands of combining domestic football with European competition as a factor in
their struggles.
“Last season we were fighting for fourth quite late in the
season and we would ideally like to be doing that again but we’ve had the
European campaign and that has been a learning curve,” said the Scotland
international.
“To get the club to the next level you have to be able to
maintain league and European form and we’ve not handled that as best we could
this season but in the coming years hopefully we will be better for it.”
Everton experienced an alarming slump in form at the start
of 2015 but appear to have turned a corner, emphasised by Saturday’s
gritty 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday,
and Naismith feels they can finish the season strongly.
“Overall we have done well the last three weeks to get good
results and it has put us in a much healthier position in the league and we can
build on that in the coming weeks,” said the 28-year-old.
"The first goal has to be to get into the top half of
the league and from there we will push on."
No comments:
Post a Comment