Leon Osman is hoping to break the 10-goal barrier in Everton's quest to reach the Champions League.
Toffees winger hoping to be among the goals in the coming weeks
Leon Osman is hoping to break the 10-goal barrier in Everton's quest to reach the UEFA Champions League.
The winger took his tally for the season to seven with the winner in the Toffees' 1-0 triumph over relegated Derby on Sunday, but is aiming to embark on a scoring spree between now and the end of the season.
With the pressure mounting on Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Andy Johnson to get the goals which could take the club into Europe, Osman accepts that it is up to the other members of the squad to share the load.
Target
"I'm always happy with every goal I score but that one was very nice," he told the
Liverpool Echo.
"Can I get to 10? I hope so. I want to score in every game. That's always the way. But if I score three in the next three games, I'd then want to get to 12 and wouldn't be happy if I missed that target.
"That's the way I work. We have played very well this season and scored a few goals. I'm fifth in the charts at the minute and while I feel as if I have had a decent return, I still think I can get a couple more before the end."
Stumble
The weekend victory over the Rams helped to close the gap on city rivals Liverpool to just three points, and with five games remaining in the current campaign Osman is confident that Everton can pip the Reds to fourth spot.
"As everyone knows, we have had a little stumble recently," he said.
"No wins in three and only one point wasn't good enough and it was vital that we got back to winning ways. Thankfully, we put that right.
"Derby made it difficult and they played some really good football. They showed why they got into the Premier League in the first place. The first half was pretty ugly and we gave the ball away too much. We knew we had to up it in the second half.
"The gap between ourselves and Liverpool is not insurmountable and we will keep going."
