Carlo Ancelotti would like to stay at Everton for longer than at any other club in his glittering career bar AC Milan.
Ancelotti has managed some of Europe’s greatest names including Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus but has never stayed anywhere more than two years – apart from his stretch at The San Siro between 2001 and 2009 when he twice won the Champions League.
The Italian marks his first anniversary at Goodison Park next month having taken them from relegation candidates to the top of the table, where they’ll be if they beat Newcastle.
His early success has given him the feeling to lay down some roots.
‘Every club has its own goal. At Real Madrid the target is to win, here we want to be competitive in the Premier League and to reach Europe. It’s a bit different,’ he acknowledges.
‘Of course we would like to win, I think we are going to win, but it takes time, a little bit longer than at other top teams I managed.
‘But the fact is I feel good here. I would like to stay for more than two or three years that I’ve usually done in the past with other clubs.
read also:Beat the Richarlison curse, Ancelotti tells Everton players
‘I would like to stay a little bit more because the project is also different. The project was really clear and ambitious when I first met the owners. It’s the reason I signed the contract.
‘I’m really happy here. I like where I live and work. I have said before Everton is a family club and I like to work at a family club.’
Everton’s unbeaten start was ended at Southampton last weekend and they travel to the north-east missing four key players James Rodriguez, Richarlison, Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne through injury or suspension.
Ancelotti was angry at the red card given to Digne at St Mary’s and the Frenchman has since seen his ban reduced from three matches to one on appeal.
But the Italian admitted he spared his players the hairdryer because of their consistency until that game.
‘I have to say that I was not happy about the performance but I couldn’t forget that this team has done a fantastic job since the start of the season,’ he admitted. ‘I would like to see my team back against Newcastle.
‘Our target for this season is really clear, to be in the European competitions next season. It doesn’t matter that we lost one game.’
Ancelotti isn’t used to having a midweek break from the Champions League to prepare his team for the next league game. He’s had time in training to work out a strategy to compensate for missing players.
Right-back Jonjoe Kenny, on loan at Schalke last season, could come in and there should be roles for Gylfi Sigurdsson and youngsters Anthony Gordon and Niels Nkounkou.
‘It’s difficult to prepare for games every three days when you are in Europe but honestly I’d prefer to have that problem next season,’ he smiles.
‘But it’s been good to have the week. You can prepare the team physically and tactically.’