Carlo Ancelotti sees guiding Everton to a Champions League place as a ‘fantastic motivation’.
Ancelotti’s side can move back into the Premier League’s final qualification spot for the competition with a win over Leicester City on Wednesday.
The Italian’s coaching career has been heavily aligned to Europe’s elite club competition, having won it three times in spells at AC Milan and Real Madird.
Moreover, his move to Goodison Park constituted the first club that Ancelotti has managed since leaving Parma in 1998 to not be regularly involved in it.
But despite the dubious distinction, the Everton manager remains determined to steer his current employers to the continental top table in the long run.
Asked whether he missed the Champions League, he said: “Personally, yes.
“I think the Champions League is the best competition in the world.
“And as I said when I arrived here, to bring Everton to games in the Champions League is a fantastic motivation for me.
“This is the target we have for the future. I don’t know how long it will take for this but I hope soon we will be able to play games in the Champions League.
“It would be fantastic to play with Everton in the Champions League, it is a great motivation and a great, great desire.”
Ancelotti also expects the Blues to have a clearer indication of their aims for the latter half of this season following back-to-back home matches this week.
“When you think about the game against Leicester and the game against Newcastle [on Saturday], it will help us understand where we want to be in the future,” he added.
“These are really important games for us. We want to fight for the top four, we want to fight for the top six.
“The fact that we are going to play at home in these next two games means that after Saturday we know where we are going to be in the future.
“I hope it is a nice future.”