OF all the comments that have, secretly or otherwise, emerged from Goodison this week, there is one that perhaps best highlights the shift in expectation at the club.

Twelve months ago, Everton began the campaign with genuine aspirations of challenging the established elite for Champions League qualification.

But this afternoon, with almost the same group of players, David Moyes’s men make a belated start to their Premier League season with the manager declaring a top-10 place could be the limit of his team’s ambition.

The reason is obvious: money. While Everton’s nearest rivals have been brandishing the chequebook during the summer, Moyes, his hands tied by the club’s ongoing restraints, could only watch as target after target slipped out of range.

Facing the media for the first time since the end of last season, the Goodison manager was yesterday in fighting – if realistic – mood as he grappled with the inevitable questions prompted by chairman Bill Kenwright’s bleak assessment of Everton’s financial landscape.

“What is our aim this year? To be competitive, to get to 40 points and be safe in the Premier League,” says Moyes, whose team entertain promoted Queens Park Rangers this afternoon.

“This time last year I thought I was going to win the league so let’s get the first bit done first and then we’ll see where we can go from there.

“But it will be really difficult for Everton to finish in the top 10 this year. I think we are going to have a big struggle.

“Look at the spending Stoke and Sunderland have done, Fulham have added one or two players as well, West Brom are improving their team.

“But we’ve got a good team already. We don’t need five or six players here, we need maybe one or two.