James Garner has outlined his desire for Everton to use this “positive” campaign as a building block to push on again next season. 

The Toffees finished the season 15th in the table, although they would have been level of points with Crystal Palace in 10th had it not been for the combined eight-point deduction they received earlier in the campaign from a Premier League commission. 

Garner admits that created a false sense of jeopardy throughout what was a much-improved term for Sean Dyche’s men. However, the midfielder also believes the obstacles the Club overcame helped create a strong unity across the squad. 

“I feel like there is a real togetherness now,” he explained to evertonfc.com. “We’ve had backs against the wall all season, we have had to overcome a lot of adversity, that has really bonded the group together and played a part. 

“[The final league table] is not a true reflection of where we should have finished this season. Definitely, there are positives to take. Now we have to have a nice rest then come into pre-season ready to go and hopefully, there’s not what happened this season and we can just focus on winning games and climbing the table.”

The Toffees ended the campaign at Arsenal on Sunday afternoon where they produced a competitive performance against Mikel Arteta’s title-chasers and were only undone in the 89th minute by a controversial goal en route to a 2-1 defeat. 

While it wasn’t the result the team wanted to round off the season, Garner believes the manner of the display was yet more evidence of Everton’s overall improvement.

“To go there (Arsenal) last game of the season, we knew it would be tough and it definitely was tough,” he admitted. 

“But we were in the game for large periods, they scored the first goal when we only had 10 men on the pitch, and then the second one was just a mistake. But overall, we have shown that there’s been progress made this season.”