STEVEN PIENAAR believes Everton can still qualify for the Champions League – but insists any European football next season would be welcome.
The South African midfielder reckons that the six-point gap between the Blues and fourth-placed Spurs can change quickly, although Everton must first recapture their momentum with a win against Norwich tomorrow.
However, even if David Moyes’ side is ultimately unable to break into European football’s elite club competition next term, Pienaar maintains that the Europa League would be an exciting consolation prize.
He said: “It’s not finished. There are still 12 games to go and if we can get all three points on Saturday it will be a big boost. The results might go our way at the weekend and suddenly you’re right in it. We don’t have to focus on other teams too much though we have to make it easier on ourselves and get a win.
“We’ve had a bit of a dip and not been winning games. We’ve been scoring but we’ve just been conceding too easily which makes it hard. But we’re a team and we want to make sure we finish as high up there as we can.”
The 30-year-old playmaker featured for the Toffees the last time they were involved in European football, when they were defeated by Sporting Lisbon in the round of 32 in the 2009/10 Europa League.
And he is desperate to make a return to the continent in a blue shirt again.
