Everton midfielder Gareth Barry says that a top four finish is now out of reach for Roberto Martinez’s men after they lost 2-1 at home to relegation-battling Swansea City.
A win against the Welsh side would have moved the Toffees into 10th place in the table, but the defeat leaves them in 12th position, and more importantly, 13 points behind 4th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
However, they are only seven points behind West Ham in sixth place and Barry, who scored Everton’s goal in the defeat, says that now becomes their aim.
He told the Liverpool Echo:
The top four is going to be really tough. We are going to have to go on some sort of run to get that. If we are going to set a target then the top six is more realistic. But, at the same time, we have big games coming up in cup competitions. We focus on a huge game against Man City and hopefully we can get the fans positive again and then, return to the league. There is still a lot of football to be played in the league but with the players we’ve got and the ability we have, means we can go on a run until the end of the season.
Everton get a break from league action in their next two games. They have two away cup games in four days as they travel to Manchester City for the second leg of the League Cup Semi-Final, and then onto Carlisle for an FA Cup fourth round clash. However, when they do get back into Premier League action, they’ll be keen to ensure they get back to winning ways in order to push on for the top six finish that Barry says they are looking for.
