Leon Osman has set his sights on helping Everton secure a Champions League spot next season - and is confident the Toffees are up to the task.The Toffees narrowly missed out during the 2007/08 campaign, finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Although they have secured a place in the UEFA Cup for the second consecutive season, the financial gains on offer are significantly lower than those available in Europe's premier club competition.

Everton's 10-match European adventure last season netted them just £400,000, small change when compared to the £5.6million the lowest Champions League earners, Shakhtar Donetsk, were able to pocket for reaching the group stages.

Although the extra revenue which would be generated is a major incentive behind the Toffees' push for a top-four finish, the credibility which comes from being involved in the competition is another factor helping to elevate the club's ambitions.

"If we didn't think we could push into the top four, there wouldn't be much point in us playing," Osman told the Liverpool Echo.

"Everyone wants to get better and improve themselves and we're no different.

"We finished fifth last season, and the only way to aim is higher - and fourth place is higher."

David Moyes' men head into next season's UEFA Cup campaign in a confident mood, knowing that they proved to be more than a match for the best sides in the competition last term.

They secured victories over eventual winners Zenit St Petersburg and Metalist Kharkiv on route to the last 16, impressive results considering many of the players contained within those sides have just helped Russia reach the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

"There were quite a few Russian players in the teams we played, which just shows the quality we were up against," said Osman.

"It also shows just how good a team we've become that we came through all those games."

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