LIVERPOOL - Everton boss David Moyes has revealed his burning desire to give the club the European exposure they have been denied since their glorious achievements of the mid-1980s.
Everton face recently crowned Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg at Goodison Park on Wednesday night knowing that a point will see them qualify for the next stage of the UEFA Cup.
Moyes yearns for such progress, and is acutely aware of what the club missed after the Heysel disaster and the ban on English clubs in Europe in 1987.
Everton were champions when the ban was imposed, and in football terms have suffered more than most.
Only under Moyes have Everton come close to any consistency of qualification, and in his own words "we have only won a couple of qualifiers, we have done nothing yet."
But he feels and accepts the responsibility of putting Everton back on the European map.
He said: "It has taken us a long time to get back into Europe, in the 80s Everton were there all the time, but then through no fault of their own they were denied the chance to continue to compete at that level.
"We are now, after all these years, beginning to get back for this club what the fans have missed all these years.
"There is a bit of me that wants to tell people in Europe that they should not forget that Everton were champions of England, and but for the Heysel disaster they have been denied a chance to have a long run in Europe.
"People forget that and don't understand what happened. Everton were unfortunate but I accept it was a tragedy that made football unimportant.
"I still think that it is something I would want to do, to see Everton in Europe regularly. I want to put this club back on the map of European football again."
He added: "A lot of people have been impressed with our progress. They are taking notice of the results, the players and the whole side.
"So far we have done nothing, we have only won a couple of qualifiers, so we know we have only just started."
Everton have doubts over Joseph Yobo (ankle) and goalkeeper Tim Howard (sickness).
Zenit's Dutch coach Dick Advocaat said: "When the draw for this group was made, I said that Zenit, Everton and AZ Alkmaar would be the three qualifiers, and I expect that now to be the case."
