Everton boss David Moyes has indicated that Marouane Fellaini's likely lengthy absence is not an overriding factor to get busy in the January transfer window.
The Belgian could be suspended for up to nine weeks after headbutting Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross on the weekend but Moyes played down claims that the Toffees would be straight into business when the winter market opens on January 1.
"That's probably you journalists trying to find out if we are going to be busy or not," he said of his fifth-placed sides transfer plans. "I couldn't tell you.
"Look, we'll do everything we can to finish in the top four. I don't know, when it comes to it, if we will actually have enough. I couldn't be sure if we will.
"But I am not going to talk us down. We are up there because we have played well at the start of the season. Realistically, will it happen? I don't know. But I want us to try and keep pushing and pushing and try to get a position in European football if we can next year. "I think the middle pack is quite strong. I don't think it would take too much for a team to win three games in a row to be right in the mix. I don't know if we will be there but I know that the competition is quite hot, that's for sure."
