Baines seeks Toffees consistency

30 July 2010 09:02
eighton Baines is convinced Everton will be competing at the top end of the Premier League this season.[LNB] The left-back believes his team-mates proved they have the ability with their form over the second half of the last campaign.[LNB]Everton lost just two of their final 24 games in a superb sequence that would have pleased the Champions League-challenging sides.[LNB]That it was only good enough for eighth place shows just how much the club paid for a poor start from which they collected just 15 points from 14 games.[LNB]"A realistic aim is always to improve on what you did last season," said Baines. "We didn't start as well as we wanted to last season but our record towards the end was among the top three or four clubs in the country.[LNB]"We have shown we can do it. We have just got to be a bit more consistent, start a bit better and who knows where that will take us?"[LNB]The futures of key players Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta have been the subject of speculation over the summer and Dan Gosling was lost to Newcastle.[LNB]But manager David Moyes can still boast a mostly settled squad after Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell, Seamus Coleman and Baines all agreed new long-term contracts.[LNB]Moyes has also added to his ranks by bringing in striker Jermaine Beckford, prolific in League One with Leeds, and two more forward prospects in Joao Silva and Magaye Gueye.[LNB]Baines said: "I would very happily fast forward to the end of the transfer window now and keep what we have got.[LNB]"If there are a couple of additions then that's great as well, because we all want competition. We all want to be pushed.[LNB]"But I am very optimistic about the squad we have together and what we are looking to do.[LNB]"We had key injuries to a lot of massive players last year. We missed them at certain points of the season but we managed without them and we did well.[LNB]"Everton is not about individuals - we are a collective unit and are very good at what we do. No matter what happens I am sure we will be fine this season."[LNB]Baines was rewarded for his form last season when he was called up to England's provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup, although he failed to make the final cut for South Africa.[LNB]He is hoping to keep himself in the frame as the Euro 2012 qualifiers begin this autumn and believes he may not be the only Everton player to catch the eye.[LNB]Baines said: "That is the aim for all of us. We are all trying to find another level to our game.[LNB]"There are a lot of us who are on the fringes of international football and looking to get involved, wondering if we've got that next level in our game.[LNB]"There's probably half a dozen of us in that situation at the moment at the club.[LNB]"Hopefully we can all push on and as a club we can push on and get back into Europe.[LNB]"That will stand us in good stead if you then get selected to play on the international stage."[LNB]Baines joined his boyhood club from Wigan in a £6million move three years ago.[LNB]After missing just four first-team games last season, he was one of the first players approached by Moyes with the offer of a new contract over the summer.[LNB]"I'm very happy," he said. "I've enjoyed my football here and it's given me a chance to sample some European football as well.[LNB]"The club came to me towards the end of the season and it didn't take me very long. There weren't too many discussions before it got signed."

Source: Team_Talk