It’s time to enter Big Four, says hardened Toffee Neville

EVERTON may have fallen short at the final hurdle in their bid to win a major trophy for the first time since 1995 but there is a growing sense at Goodison Park that they are well positioned to become the first club to finally break into the Premier League’s Big Four.

Captain Phil Neville admitted his team lost to the better side at Wembley despite scoring after only 25 seconds through Louis Saha but still described the campaign as a “miracle season” and focused quickly on the future.

He said: “Everyone knows the gap between fourth and the rest of the league is still a gulf. But of all the clubs in the Premiership, we have been the ones consistently pushing from below. That’s our aim.