Everton new boy Gareth Barry backs Toffees' top six bid

 Debutant Barry was the stand-out player in the win over Chelsea and thinks Martinez's men can crash the Euro party

Evertonian: Barry dazzled on his Blues debut

Chris Brunskill

Gareth Barry insists Everton can gatecrash the top six after proving their mettle by beating Chelsea.

Barry’s Goodison debut after his move from Manchester City saw him hailed as a “proper, loved Evertonian” by boss Roberto Martinez.

The England veteran’s astonishing block to deny Samuel Eto’o a goal on his Chelsea bow was the momentum-changing moment of the match.

But having seemingly left a fight for the crown for regular football in a side not expected to challenge, Barry maintains Everton are serious contenders to have their voice heard when things start to matter.

Barry said: “There will be a big impact on confidence now.

“Getting into Europe with Everton is one of the targets and the longer the season goes on the more we’ll set ourselves more targets.

“But I think this will be the most open Premier League for a long time.

“When you looked at it pre-season you saw the top three teams and all the managers had changed and that’s set it up.

“Nobody is that stable and nobody looks like they will run away with it.

“That means there could be a surprise this season and from an Everton point of view we want to get into the mix and finish as high as we can.”

Barry formed an instant partnership with Leon Osman, allowing Ross Barkley to cause Chelsea endless problems with his strong, aggressive running.

He added: “I had two days training with Ross. He has bags of confidence and lots of ability.

“If he manages to keep a level head and keep learning, he can go all the way. The sky is the limit for him.

“It’s surprising how strong the squad is and when everyone is fit and available the competition here will be really good, which is what we need.”