Travis asks for calm from fans
Joe Travis laughed off the thought of Everton's unlikely title contention today, insisting that the only objective is to qualify for the Champions League.
Everton lie 4th in the table with games in hand on those around them which could move them within a point of Manchester City atop the table, but Travis has asked for fans to not take the Toffees impressive start as a benchmark for the whole season.
"Football is one of those games where realistic expectations need to be withheld when form is good as well as bad." Says Travis, whose side have lost twice domestically this season. "We've had a great start, beating some very good teams, but we have to keep calm and keep plodding along. We're not going to be title contenders and I hope our fans don't get conned into thinking that by over-excited press."
Travis has much to be pleased about. Mattia Destro has had a fine start to his Everton career, picking up 4 league goals in 5 starts. The big impact however has come from Nikica Jelavic, with the powerful Croat hitting 10 goals in his first 10 games this season.
"It's great to see" beamed Travis, "Niki has done so well this season, and you know when he's on the pitch that there's an opportunity that we could score. Him and Mattia have looked formidable when together and if we can keep them both fit and firing, when Jon (Daly) and Mason (Bennett) are also chipping in, then we have a goal threat that we didn't have last season."