Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin is confident that the Merseyside club will compete among the Champions League elite, but not quite yet.

Ronald Koeman's side currently occupy seventh spot in the Premier League table, the closest challengers to those vying for European places.

The Toffees went nine league games without losing, but their impressive streak came to an end last weekend when they were undone 3-2 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Schneiderlin has been settling into life at Goodison Park following his January transfer from Manchester United.

The Frenchman has featured in seven league fixtures, five of which were starts, playing a total of 506 minutes so far.

Everton are eight points behind local rivals Liverpool, who sit in fourth place, and Schneiderlin has called for fans to be realistic about their ambitions for the club.

According to the Daily Mail, in a question and answer session on the Toffees' Facebook page, the midfielder said:

"Top five this season is going to be hard. This club needs to take time and not get carried away too much because we have had some good results, but keep improving every day and then in the near future we can challenge for the top five.

"Next year the manager will bring in some more players to improve the team and hopefully we can push to that top five in the Premier League. I am sure the club dreams of a Champions League place and maybe in a few years' time we can [give] that to them."

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