Sam Allardyce believes that he could have challenged for a top-four finish with Everton had he been given the opportunity to do so due to the resources available.
In his press conference in midweek, Allardyce was asked to reflect on the job that Sean Dyche has done at Burnley and whether he can progress to a bigger team.
During his response, he reflected on his own career and when he felt he could push a team into the upper echelons of the Premier League.
Allardyce spoke about his time at Everton, explaining that the spending power of the Merseyside club would have provided him with the opportunity to build a team capable of challenging for the top four.
He then compared that to the meteoric rise of Manchester City over the past decade-and-a-half, highlighting that their spending power is what took them from a lower Premier League side to consistent challengers and champions.
On his chance at Everton, the West Brom boss said: "I thought that Newcastle was gonna be the big one for me when I moved there. And then Everton, when I got that one, on Everton particularly, on the amount of money they had to spend, because that would then be a big club.
"Manchester City has become a big club now on the fact that they've spent at least £450million just on defenders. So Everton had not as much spending power as that, but certainly in the way they've gone, have had big spending power.
"So that would have made them - or if I had still been there as obviously I think I would be, well I would say that - but if I'd have had that spending power, I would have been wanting them to get them into the top four and be one of the top-four teams.
"So that was my, after Newcastle, that was my biggest opportunity to put somebody in amongst what the top four are now because it's not so long ago that Manchester City were nowhere near.
"Everton had that chance, but I didn't get that chance to take them forward sadly."
After a poor start to the 2017/18 season, Everton, who sat in 13th position at the time, hired Allardyce. He led them to an eighth-placed finish but was not offered the job ahead of the 2018/19 season.
Everton subsequently hired Marco Silva in May 2018, before appointing Carlo Ancelotti in December 2019.
Ancelotti has since lifted the team into a top-four challenging position this season off the back of some excellent recruitment. Everton currently sit five points behind Chelsea in fourth, though they have a game in hand on the Blues and West Ham United in fifth.
Moreover, should the Blues beat Liverpool in Saturday's Merseyside Derby, they will move level on points with the Reds with a game-in-hand.
