Carlo Ancelotti believes that Everton’s mentality heading into their crucial final matches of the campaign is strong. The Blues are aiming to qualify for Europe by the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign and currently find themselves in eighth place in a tight Premier League table, just five points away from fourth and with a game in hand.
Carlo Ancelotii remarked: “I think that there are, mentally, two different situations. If the players are not used to fighting for something, you have a great desire and great motivation to fight for something. That’s where we are now in this moment. From the other side, you have players who are used to the fight and they have the knowledge of how to fight. Here, there is a great desire to try and fight for something – playing in Europe next season. I think that, mentally, we are good because the desire of these players is so high.”
The Blues have followed up a trio of consecutive victories in the Premier League by failing to win any of their following three matches in the competition. Their latest match saw more points dropped at home as Crystal Palace came away from Goodison Park with a draw thanks to a late strike from Michy Batshuayi cancelling out James Rodriguez’s opener. Ancelotti admitted that, especially at home, the consistency has not been there for his side – but still believes their position in the table right now shows real progress.
Carlo Ancelotti said: “I think that with more consistency we would have a better position in the table.The position in the table is, at the moment, a good position for us considering where we were last season. Last season we were closer to the relegation zone than Europe. Also we didn’t have a good consistency at home. We are still in a good position and are fighting for the target that was at the start of the season. Of course we would like to do our best all the time, but at the same time we’ve said we were inconsistent at home, we were consistent away – because we’ve won important games, we won the derby. I think we have to wait a little bit. If we are able to reach the European position at the end of the season I think it will be, for us, a fantastic season.”
