Source: SKY_Sports
Osman backs Kenwright stance
Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes the fact that the club have not got a billionaire owner has actually helped their progress in recent years.
Owner Bill Kenwright has made no secret of the fact that he is looking for a suitable buyer for the club but the chairman is determined to sell to someone who has the best interests of the Toffees at heart.
This safety first approach has resulted in some success starved Toffees fans to criticise the 63-year-old.
But Osman believes the lack of a sugar daddy has been beneficial to the club's progress under manager David Moyes.
"Mr Kenwright has got a lot of stick over the years for not handing the club over to multi-million pound investors but he deserves credit for being so careful," he told the News of the World.
"He decided that any old investor wasn't going to be good enough for Everton and he's been proved right.
"We've seen in recent years that there are people who come into English football and want to take the club in a direction which isn't good.
"Some owners might not even like football and want it all to be about business. I think it's fair to say a few clubs have been stung for thinking that's the best way to go."
Dwarfed
With the top four's transfer budget dwarfing that of Everton's it makes Moyes' side's achievements all the more impressive.
With an FA Cup quarter-final at home to Middlesbrough on Sunday and the club sitting seven points off fourth spot Osman believes the gap between the top four and the rest of the league is getting closer.
"The reason such a big gap opened up was because of the amount of money getting pumped into the top four," he added.
"The Champions League money then gave them the chance to continually re-invest and protect their position which makes it harder on everyone else.
"If either ourselves or Aston Villa can break that up over the next year or two I'm sure you'll see big differences in the league.
"Apart from Manchester United there's no difference at all. From a competitive point of view that's good for the league and the chasing clubs."
Favourites
With the Toffees favourites to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday the 27-year-old admits that it is about time the club won some silverware.
"We've managed to finish fourth, fifth and sixth in the league, which is also good but you don't win anything for that," he said.
"There have been a lot of games we weren't expected to win where we've been defied by everyone.
"This is different because people expect us to win, but we're capable of handling that."
Despite their impressive form this season Osman reveals that the team still have their feet firmly on the ground.
"You'll see the first-team players here helping sort out the kit with the kit men. We all muck in. We don't feel we're doing our jobs but helping our mates," he said.
