Neville targets strong finish

Phil Neville wants his Everton team-mates to finish the season as professionally as possible. For much of the campaign the Toffees looked capable of qualifying for the Champions League but in recent weeks poor form has put paid to best-laid plans.

With Liverpool odds-on favourites to claim fourth in the table, Everton’s new challenge is to fend off those clubs closing in on fifth.

Aston Villa and Portsmouth have hit their stride at just the right time of the season and Neville has warned his Toffees team-mates that they must see the campaign out professionally, starting against Chelsea on Thursday.

“We’re at the stage of the season where we seem to have hit a brick wall,” Neville told the club’s official website.