 EVEN the most pessimistic of Evertonians will accept that the Blues have now qualified for next season's UEFA Cup competition – and there's no doubt they deserve to be there. While Everton’s performances in the cup competitions have been patchy this season, in the Premiership they have been remarkably consistent. In fact I'm struggling to think of any poor performances. They have maintained a high level of consistency throughout the season and are top of what I call the second league in the Premiership. The Premiership is now split into three definable tiers. There's the top four, which nobody has been able to break into with any consistency over the past four or five years, there's the, for want of a better word, dross in the bottom eight, then there's the middle pack of eight who know they're not going to be involved in relegation dogfights but are also unable to break into the Champions League group of clubs. As a result Everton's primary objective this season will have been to get into next season's UEFA Cup. It's important for a club of Everton's stature to achieve European qualification regularly, and the lure of Europe can be influential in attracting new players to the club during pre-season. But there's another important element to Everton's participation in the UEFA Cup. David Moyes has stated that his ultimate ambition for Everton is Champions League qualification. He's done it before so there's no reason why he shouldn't do it again. There's no doubt that the UEFA Cup is the poor relation of the European competitions, but it can be invaluable in offering vital experience to players. If David is successful in the aim of landing Champions League football, he needs a squad of players which is experienced in handling the unique pressures of European football. Even a club as well equipped financially and squad-wise as Tottenham struggled to come to terms with challenges on the domestic and continental fronts this season. When Everton qualified for Europe two years ago they were clearly not experienced enough to enjoy the experience. They had the misfortune to draw a powerful Villarreal side in the Champions League, and were unluckily beaten, then a mad half-hour in Bucharest ended their UEFA Cup hopes. The more often Everton play in Europe the better equipped they will become to handle it, so that if David does engineer another Champions League campaign in the future the club will be much better equipped to deal with it. David is a brilliant manager who has done a fantastic job this season and once UEFA Cup qualification is 100%, mathematically confirmed, he will sit down with chairman Bill Kenwright and decide what players need to be brought in this summer. Clearly the Blues will need at least three or four more players added to the existing squad if they are going to withstand the rigours of Thursday- Sunday football next autumn. But it's certainly nothing to fear. Everton should be enjoying European excursions far more regularly than they have in the past and this season's achievements should be celebrated. And UEFA Cup football could well be a precursor for the biggest tournament of all in the near future. | 
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