‘Everton are not in the title race’ – Ancelotti insists Toffees are fighting for European spot

Everton are not in the title race, according to Carlo Ancelotti, who has insisted that the Toffees are fighting for a European spot rather than domestic glory.

Ancelotti has had a huge impact at Goodison Park since replacing Marco Silva in the hot seat in December 2019.

The former Milan and Chelsea boss steered Everton away from danger to secure a 12th place Premier League finish last season, and has taken the team to another level in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign.

After adding Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Rodriguez, Allan and Ben Godfrey to his ranks in the summer transfer window, Ancelotti has overseen the Toffees’ rise to sixth in the top-flight standings, with 10 wins, two draws and five losses recorded through their opening 17 fixtures.

The Merseyside outfit are currently sitting eight points behind leaders Manchester United with two games in hand, with it suggested that they could be dark horses for English football’s top prize come May.

However, Ancelotti, who is currently preparing his team for an FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Sheffield United, has ruled out the possibility of a tilt at the Premier League trophy.

“Honestly, we don’t have in our mind a title race,” the 61-year-old told a press conference. “We have in our mind, and I said at the start of the season, to fight for the European positions.

“Now we are in a good position and we want to stay there. It depends on us to stay in a good position.

“I think to talk about a title race in this moment is too much for us.”

Ancelotti did admit that the shortened season caused by the coronavirus pandemic has created a more competitive division, though, while insisting that collective standards remain as high as ever despite the absence of supporters.

“You see the table, at the top there are a lot of teams who are not used to staying there, like West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton also,” he said. “In this moment Chelsea and Arsenal are not there, but they will be.

“The level, physically, tactically, technically, it’s really high in my personal opinion. It is exciting to watch the games.

“I watch all the time games on TV, as all people do in this moment because you cannot go to the theatre or a restaurant, you have to stay at home and watch games on TV.

“The only problem is there are no supporters at the stadium, but the quality and intensity of the games, I think is at the top level.”

The Everton boss added on Sunday’s clash with Sheffield United at Goodison: “We hope to have less difficulty in this game, but we have to know it will be difficult because in the FA Cup there will always be surprises,” he said.

“We don’t want to be the negative surprise. We have to approach the game well because we didn’t do against Rotherham.

“Sheffield Wednesday are coming with all the strength that they have. They are a strong team, physical team and they want to compete with us. We have to be ready for this.”