Joseph Yobo 460

EVERTON defender Joseph Yobo has backed the club to break into the top four of the Premier League.

The Nigerian international’s future at Goodison Park had looked in doubt in the latter stages of last season as he edged towards the final year of his contract while struggling to get a regular place in the starting line-up due to the impressive form of Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott’s central defensive partnership.

However, after signing a new five-year deal with the club, Yobo, who was manager David Moyes’s first major signing in 2002, is now looking forward to a bright future at Goodison.

The 28-year-old was part of the Everton team that finished fourth in 2005 and after now helping Moyes’s men to consecutive fifth-place finishes, he is again backing his team-mates to secure a Champions League spot – providing that Moyes his given sufficient funds to strengthen his squad.

Yobo said: “With a better financial backing, we can be in the top four before long.

“We have a very bright future ahead.

We have finished these past two seasons within the top six and we are still growing as a team.

“I believe that in the very near future we will break into the top four in England.”