Does anyone else apart from me notice the apparent contradiction between what the manager said at the start of the summer and what he is saying now?

Last year the UEFA Cup run actively lifted everything that Everton did and was a memorable highlight.

But I have mixed feelings about this year’s involvement in the Uefa Cup because if the squad is not strengthened before the end of the current transfer window, Everton might be ill-equipped to handle the demands placed upon them by the group stage matches.

The question in the back of my mind is whether it would be more beneficial not to progress beyond the first phase and thus avoid fixture congestion in the second half of the season.

On the other hand, bearing in mind what transpired after the Champions League exit three years ago I’m worried that an early elimination would have an equally negative effect on the club, particularly since they did so well in the competition last year.

The alternative is to simply go for it, ensure they still have an interest on all fronts at the turn of the year and look to strengthen things in the January transfer window.

But we cannot assume that the club will be in a significantly different position with regard to the transfer market in five months time.

As it stands, though, for Moyes it is a case of trying to maintain confidence and morale in the camp and quite literally taking things one game at a time and assessing the options open to him in the couple of days prior to the next test.

There’s certainly not much chance of the medium or long term planning that would enable him to mix and match his selections. Ideally he would want to hold back his strongest side for the bigger matches, but in his current situation it’s more likely to be a case of all hands on deck every week.

That was the case last Saturday when the team all but picked itself.