Carlo Ancelotti has claimed his 18 months in charge of Everton were a ‘success’.
The triple Champions League-winning coach stunned Goodison Park chiefs on Tuesday by quitting his post in order to rejoin former employers Real Madrid.
Ancelotti returns to the club which sacked him in 2015 and barely halfway through a four-and-a-half year contract he originally signed with the Blues.
But the Italian believes his time on Merseyside can be classed as a success due to being in the hunt for a European place on the final day of last season.
Everton had a slim chance of sneaking into the last continental spots before a 5-0 thrashing by Manchester City saw them finish the campaign in 10th place.
“I think each team has an objective, has a challenge to try and achieve,” said Ancelotti.
“The objective for Real Madrid is to try and compete to win the Champions League, La Liga.
“The objective of Everton is to try and get into European football, to fight to try and get into European football.
“Each team has an objective. Success isn’t just winning trophies, success for a manager is to reach the objective that the club has.
“Everton doesn’t have the objective to win the Premier League, it has the objective to try and play in European football and we fought until the end.
“To get to the last game fighting for Europe, I think that was a success.”