KICK START

Tim Howard hopes a result against Larissa will kick start Everton's season

Tim Howard is hoping the right result against Larissa will kick start the Blues' season.

Everton take a break from Premier League action on Thursday evening when they begin the group stage of the Uefa Cup against the Greek side.

The 2-1 defeat against Liverpool left the Blues in 11th place in the league and Howard concedes it has not been the easiest starts to the 2007/08 campaign.

"It's been a middle of the road kind of start," said Howard.

"We can't get too optimistic about what we have done but we can't get too down in the dumps either.

"We have had a few key guys on the treatment table recently so hopefully when they come back fit and ready, we will be able to kick on from there. There is a lot of potential and ambition here but the beginning of the season has been hard."

Over the coming months David Moyes' side will be taking on Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Almaar and Nurnberg in the Uefa Cup and the American goalkeeper acknowledges there are no easy games in the group stage of the competition. 

"The draw has been good," admitted Tim.

"There isn't a whole lot of travelling, which is a benefit to us as we only have to go Holland and Germany. But when you get to the group stages, there are a lot of really good sides, so we won't underestimate anyone."