Everton FC defender Leighton Baines says Europa League is stepping stone on way to Champions LeagueDefender wants Blues to continue to next level by learning from tough Group H campaign
Leighton Baines believes Everton FC’s tough Europa League group is the perfect learning environment for a club with ambitions of playing at the highest level.
The Blues face Lille at Goodison tonight with a chance to consolidate their position as leaders of Group H, and favourites to progress to the competition’s knock-out stage.
Baines, 29, who turned down Manchester United in January to sign a new four-year deal with the Toffees, hopes the experiences of playing on the continent this term will mean the club’s young band of performers will be ready when Champions League football beckons.
Everton might already have been playing in Uefa’s top club competition after a close fight with Arsenal to finish fourth last season.
But the England defender believes the level of ambition across the board at Goodison means everyone has their sights set on progress.
“Obviously we’d have preferred to finish fourth than fifth,” said the left-back. “But I think this season is great experience for all of us, particularly those involved in European competition for the first time.
“We’re in a really strong group. In another season our points tally in the league could have made the Champions League. Some of the other sides in our group could have been there too. “But not just for that standard of opposition but also the strains of playing three games a week for a period, then having internationals. It’s all good experience for the younger lads.
“You start to realise you can’t cut corners when you’ve got a schedule like that. You’ve got to tick all the boxes in terms of preparation; recovery, diet, sleep, rest periods etc.
“You want to be able to perform at optimum levels as often as possible. You don’t want to leave anything to chance. The second you do is when you maybe have that last 15 minutes when you can’t quite move as well as you’d like.
“You may think back to something and realise ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have gone shopping or whatever it was that day’. They’re the little things sometimes that can make a difference. That’s why it’s such a useful experience for us all but especially the youngsters.
“For all of us though, myself and the players I’ve talked about it’s an added incentive. We want to keep playing at that level and be a part of something bigger. To go onto that next level of football as well. That’s the motivation; Champions League and silverware.
“We don’t just want to do well, we want to create really special memories. These nights at the moment are great - seeing the fans on the road and the support we get is unbelievable. We’d like to excite them even further if we can.”
Baines admits that a major influence on his decision to spurn United and commit his future to Everton back in the new year was the promise of success on the horizon.
And he reckons the crop of youngsters in Roberto Martinez’s squad will ensure the Blues can move on to the next level while he is still playing.
“We have got a really good young group of players here now as well,” he says. “I am part of the senior group if you like, with Jags, Tim Howard, Leon Osman and Hibbo, and there is also a secondary core group now of Seamus, Ross, John Stones and James McCarthy who are all key players in the squad and are the real future now.
“It is part of the senior group’s job and responsibility to help them move forward because they are the future.
“Me staying, then Seamus, Ross and Stonesy, who have all signed to long-term contracts, is a real sign of where the club is at. They are all top players and the future of this football club. That is why we are heading in the right direction.”
Everton have taken well to European football so far, unbeaten as they head into tonight’s game. That, says Baines, is testament to their bright young manager’s philosophy.
“We are trying to develop our style into a way that isn’t limited,” he says. “So there’s no ceiling to it if we continue to improve on what we do, and we know we have still got to do that.
“It’s the style the top teams will also be playing. And we will be well suited if we can improve to the levels that we want. And then if we go on to the Champions League, it would be well suited that level of football.
“It’s a continual progression really. We had a good season last season and we just want to keep building on that. We are all working towards bumping our levels up and getting to that level where we know what we are as a minimum.”
For the time being Baines’ mind will be focused on stopping Lille’s attack, including Kopite in the camp Divock Origi, from upsetting their momentum.
And based on what he saw of the young Belgian starlet in France he knows that will not be easy.
“He’s certainly a threat and showed that in flashes during the game,” says Baines. “He’s really explosive and he’s got that unpredictability to his game. That’s always dangerous, when you have players like that.
“He’s certainly someone we will have to be mindful of going into the game.”
Source: Echo
