Steven Pienaar suggests Everton could be best placed to go out and win the FA Cup in order to secure a spot in the Europa League.
The Toffees sit sixth in the Premier League but already one spot in Europe's second tier competition has been snapped up by Swansea City after they took out the Capital One Cup last month.
Pienaar, who scored in the 3-1 win over Reading on Saturday, feels that Everton may need to sneak in the back door by clinching the FA Cup rather than battling it out for fifth spot with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.
"Sometimes you have to go through the back door, so there is a little less pressure on us now," he said.
"We will see how the other teams do and hopefully we can sneak in.
"I think it is fairly good to play in European competitions. After the Premier League there are only two bigger cups - the Europa League and the Champions League.
"All the players want to play in it and it is important for the club to get European football.
"We will just see. The cup is the shortest route to European football.
"Next week we are also at Goodison so hopefully this can be the place that gives us the passport to European football."
