DT: I don't know if you've seen it, but there's a website called EvertonTime.com and it has a running clock that shows that it's been almost two years since Everton bought a player (not including loans, youth players or free transfers).
Howard: No way...
DT: As a player is that frustrating or is that not really something you pay attention to?
Howard: It's something we definitely pay attention to. Of course it's frustrating. I think people at Everton are trying to do the right things -- we all are. Unfortunately, it's not always as easy as that and I know they're trying their best to bring players in and for us as players our job is to keep our head down and try to win games. You know, we don't really have any say over those types of transactions. That's going to be what the manager does and the chairman does. It's always nice to see a fresh face come in and boost the morale of the club. It makes you feel like you're going in the right direction. And I have no doubts that we'll bring a few players in this summer. Our manager's proven in the past that he's shrewd in the transfer market and can work with a small budget. So, again, we're not overly concerned. I understand from a fan's perspective they have that counting clock, but we just have to kind of get on with it and hopefully we've shown that even teams spending £100 million more than us we've shown that we can push them aside and win games.
DT: What's your goal for the new season?
Howard: I think the team goal is certainly always to solidify ourselves in one of the European places and I think we were on the verge of that last year, but we just got there too late. I think if we can, you know, around Christmas time get ourselves into the top six, top seven, then we have a long stretch of season to kind of really kick ourselves up the table and possibly get into the coveted Champions League spot or pull away from some of the other teams behind us, but we need to get to that position earlier in the year.
