sport

NEVILLE HOPES TO MAKE HIS MARK

Neville - hopes to impress this season.

Phil Neville admits he has finally given his soul to Everton three years after moving down the East Lancs Road from Manchester United.

Manager David Moyes showed his appreciation of how much he values his captain by handing him a new four-year deal last month.

It means the 31-year-old defender seems likely to finish his career at Everton - a place that is now close to his heart.

He said: "I never thought I would get United out of my system but this is a special club and it sucks you in. These are special people and a special breed.

"One of the first things that struck me here was all these great ex-players that are around the club.

"It is fantastic to meet them all - (Graeme) Sharp, (Peter) Reid, (Kevin) Sheedy, (Adrian) Heath, (Derek) Mountfield, (Kevin) Ratcliffe and going back further Dave Hickson.

"But there is a big gap between that bunch of players and now. We need to start making our mark so that they start talking about us instead."

To do that, Neville believes Everton - who entertain Blackburn on Saturday - need to break into the top four or win a major trophy.

After winning six Premier League titles and three FA Cups at Old Trafford, he said: "If we could get into the top four that would be as big an achievement as anything I did at my previous club.

"We underachieved at times last season. We got one point from 24 against the top four sides. If we had won two of those games we may have broken through.

"There was some fatigue towards the end of last season. We lost the momentum that was carrying us through.

"That is something we need to be prepared for if we want to play as many games again."

Neville has nothing but admiration for new Blackburn manager Paul Ince, the former England and Manchester United midfielder.

"Paul left a big impression on me as a youngster because he is such a winner and nothing stands in his way," said Neville.

"He went out to Italy and made his mark when others didn't and that says everything for his determination.

"Paul is probably the most determined player I have ever played with and I think it is fantastic Blackburn have given the job to an Englishman. I do not think there are enough of us around."

Everton are down on numbers for the opening game with players injured or unavailable, and there has been a lack of summer signings, but Neville claims they remain a strong unit.

He said: "There has been a lot of negativity around but we are using that to our advantage.

"We have always had a small squad and never been blessed with 20 or 30 players. The manager likes working with a small group and the players like that.

"Apart from Lee Carsley (now at Birmingham) we have the same starting 11 that took us all the way to success last season."