PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW: Boos turn to applause for improving Everton

Jan 30 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

WHEN Tottenham Hotspur last travelled to Goodison Park almost 12 months ago, a beaten Everton left the field to a crescendo of boos.

An indication of the strides made since then meant that when David Moyes’s side trudged from the same pitch after losing their last home game against Chelsea, they did so to the sound of applause.

Tottenham are again the visitors this evening when Everton aim to shrug off the disappointment of their Carling Cup elimination last week by strengthening their grip on fourth place in the Premier League.

Everton lost 2-1 on that February night last year, the supporters’ frustration at their last-minute defeat compounded by what they perceived as a pair of conservative second-half substitutions from the manager.

However, Moyes’s side responded by losing just two of their final 11 league games to clinch sixth place and UEFA Cup qualification.

Their sights are set even higher this season, with a place in the Champions League now in view after moving into the top four on the back of a run of 29 points from their last 13 league games.

That sequence becomes even more impressive given Everton have been without key trio Yakubu, Joseph Yobo and Steven Pienaar to Africa Cup of Nations duty for the past three weeks.

And the message from an upbeat Moyes to his players is simple.

“The big thing now is just to keep going,” he says. “We do not need to do anything weird or wonderful, just keep going.

“We’ve got two really hard games coming up with Blackburn to come on Saturday, against two teams I think are in the top eight of the Premier League. Spurs are definitely in that group and still can be.

“I think Spurs will see themselves as having a chance at qualifying for the UEFA Cup, if only a long shot.

“There were signs in the Chelsea game that we are playing better now after the performances against City and Wigan, and hopefully we can keep up to that level.

“We’ve raised expectations and it will be tough because the competition is tight up there, and all we can do is keep winning the next game.

“We need to stay where we are at the worst and if anything grab hold of some of the ones above us.

“But we feel positive about how we can play. There’s a real sense of confidence through the group. We feel that if we play as we can, then we are more than a match for anyone.”

Everton served early note of their intent for this season with a memorable 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane back in August.

Tottenham have since shed Martin Jol and gained Juande Ramos as manager, the Spaniard slowly guiding the Londoners up towards the top half of the table.

Tonight’s game could have been a dress rehearsal for the Carling Cup final with Ramos having led his team to a resounding semi-final thumping of neighbours Arsenal last week.

The Lilywhites can boast an impressive recent record at Goodison Park, having lost just twice there in 15 visits during the Premier League era.

But they stand a massive 15 points adrift of Everton, and Moyes adds: “We played very well that night in August and it gave us a lot of confidence.

“Tottenham have improved since then but I think we have as well. We’re on a good run in the league and we want to keep that going.

“For the last three or four months we have been really consistent, so let’s hope we can keep it going.

“The good thing is that the form of those around us, like City and Portsmouth, has been good so that shows how well our own has been going.

“I’d say it is a big eight or nine now, not a big four, because of the spending power other clubs have. It will be very difficult to even make the European set-up this time.”

Tottenham have lost only six of 23 games under Ramos, and Moyes says: “I think he took over a very good squad of players. I don’t think anyone in football would have thought for a minute that Tottenham weren’t going to do a lot better than they were doing at that moment in time.

“There have not been an awful lot of changes to the team, maybe the style and the way he has changed things behind the scenes is different – stuff I wouldn’t know about – and has had an effect.

“But what I do know about him is he has had good success at Sevilla.”

Moyes could hand a first Premier League start to Manuel Fernandes on his second loan spell at the club.

The Portugal midfielder came through 79 minutes of the semi-final against Chelsea last week, and Moyes says: “Fernandes feels a lot better with a game under his belt. He’s still got a bit to go in terms of match fitness and match tempo, but he’s done better and lasted longer that we’d have thought.

“With the suspensions and being without the African players, we’ve got a squad that is very thin on the ground and we are definitely short in midfield at the moment.”