Everton ace Sylvain Distin believes the Toffees can break into the top four

WHEN Sylvain Distin arrived in England in 2001 he was not sure he would last more than a few months.

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By Chris McKenna/Published 7th December 2013

LIFE OF BRYAN: Sylvain Distin hoists Everton scorer Daniel Oviedo aloft after Everton's win at Manchester United [GETTY]

Twelve years later he has become the first foreign outfield player to rack up more than 400 Premier League appearances.
Now the Frenchman is eyeing up a European return with Everton.
Distin, 35, arrived at Newcastle on loan from Paris St-Germain but struggled to get in the side at first.
He was left isolated in the North East, alone in a hotel, cold, and asking himself why he left Paris to sit on the bench at Newcastle.

But the French defender would go on to establish himself during his loan spell at St James' Park that season and helped them reach the Champions League.
Distin signed for Manchester City in 2002 and he has never looked back, spending five years with the Blues before joining Portsmouth, and then Everton in 2009.

He said: "Honestly, my aim was to go back to PSG and play. I thought I'd come over for one year and then go back to where I'd been.
"PSG was the club I belonged to, I supported "PSG was the club I belonged to, I supported them as a kid.
Dark "I definitely didn't think I would stay in the first three months. That was tough. I began to play after the first three months and started to enjoy it and after that I thought, 'I'm not going back to France'.

"I definitely didn't think I would stay in the first three months. That was tough. I began to play after the first three months and started to enjoy it and after that I thought, 'I'm not going "The first few months I didn't think I'd survive in England. I wasn't playing, I wasn't speaking English, I was on my own in the hotel and I didn't know anything, so I was  was like, 'What's the point with this?' "I don't know if you know Newcastle, but from September it's dark nights from about 3pm. OK, it's the same here on Merseyside, but it's a bit colder up north.
"I don't know if you know Newcastle, but from September it's dark nights from about "We did eventually have a great season at Newcastle, playing with guys like Alan Shearer, people I had been watching on TV "We did eventually have a great season at Newcastle, playing with guys like Alan Shearer, people I had been watching on TV two or three years before."
"Now it is all about looking forward for the veteran as he looks to finish his career in" Now it is all about looking forward for the veteran as he looks to finish his career in England on a high.

“We do start to believe it's possible to finish in the top four now”

Sylvain Distin

DISTIN's contract expires at the end of this season but he is hoping a new deal can be arranged and he can also enjoy a return to Distin's contract expires at the end of this season but he is hoping a new deal can be arranged and he can also enjoy a return to European football.
Everton are fifth heading into the weekend, Everton are fifth heading into the weekend, and tomorrow they visit Arsenal, following Wednesday's win over Manchester United - their first victory at Old Trafford in 21 years.
Roberto Martinez's side believe they have a realistic chance of securing a top four spot and the Champions League place that goes with it.

Distin said: "We do start to believe it's possible to finish in the top four now.
"We have always believed it's possible, but now, I think mathematically we are starting to believe it's more possible. My contract is up at the end of the season, there is nothing more. I want to stay.
"It seems like the club wants me to stay so I am sure we will find a solution."

When Everton faced United at Old Trafford on Wednesday, some fans gave former boss David Moyes stick.
They felt the United boss was disrespectful to Everton with his comments before the game about Martinez "keeping it going" and believe the Spaniard is doing much better than the Scot.


But Distin believes the work Moyes did in taking the Toffees from relegation battlers to a top-half side, and into the Champions League in 2005 should not be forgotten.
He said: "Yes, Roberto's philosophy has had an effect, but it would be a very big mistake to forget what David Moyes has done for this club.

SMOOTH AS SYL-K Sylvain Distin races past Patrice Evra [GETTY]

He said: "Yes, Roberto's philosophy has had an effect, but it would be a very big mistake to forget what David Moyes has done for this club.

Tuning "Ninety per cent of the players here David Moyes has brought to the club. It is David Moyes who has put this winning mentality in our head as well for 10 years.
"Ninety per cent of the players here David Moyes has brought to the club. It is David Moyes who has put this winning mentality in our head as well for 10 years.

"So if people feel like one manager now is doing what the other hasn't been doing for 10 years, the base has actually been built by the ex-manager, and the new manager is just tuning things.
like one manager now is doing what the other hasn't been doing for 10 years, the base has actually been built by the ex-manager, and the new manager is just tuning things.
"The mentality has always been there, it's just the football is a little bit different. "The league is a little bit more open as well, with everybody winning against everybody."