Everton midfielder James McCarthy says everyone at club must remain focused if they want to maintain their good start to the season.

The Toffees made a slow start last term, McCarthy’s second at the club, winning just four of their first 24 games in the Premier League.

They have hit the ground running this time around with just one defeat in six in the league and victory at West Brom could allow them to climb as high as fifth in the table.

They already have a morale-boosting win over champions Chelsea under their belts but Republic of Ireland midfielder McCarthy says they need to refocus with a series of difficult opponents now in front of them again.

“We are not getting carried away,” said McCarthy. “We had a tough start in terms of the games and we’ve got another tough few games coming up, so all we’re focused on is each game as it comes.”

Following the trip to West Brom, Everton face Merseyside rivals Liverpool and then Manchester United and Arsenal.

In his first season at Goodison Park, McCarthy helped Everton to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League.

He says matching or bettering that is the aim once more this season, but he will wait until much later in the campaign before setting any targets.

“Come January we can look again at the table and take stock then. There will still be a long way to go in the league, but we can weigh up from there where we want to be going,” he added.

Everton are 2.40 to win at West Brom while the Toffees are available at 13.00 to finish in the top four this season.