Everton boss Roberto Martinez hailed the "incredible maturity" his side are showing in the Europa League after they beat Lille 3-0 at Goodison Park to take a major step towards the knockout rounds.
The victory -- secured by goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Steven Naismith -- leaves the unbeaten Toffees top of Group H with eight points from four games in the pool and two more matches to go.
They are a point clear of second-placed Wolfsburg, their next opponents, while third-placed Lille have three points and FK Krasnodar in fourth have two. Everton are playing in continental competition for the first time in five seasons.
And Martinez said of the Lille triumph: "I thought we played really, really well. I thought we were fantastic defensively and, going forward, we always looked a threat.
"To keep the concentration throughout the 90 minutes and keep a clean sheet, that pleases me a lot.
"We showed an incredible maturity, playing in Europe -- something it seems we have been doing for many seasons, when the reality is that it is a new experience for us."
Asked about his confidence of his side clinching a last-32 spot, the Spaniard said: "We are just taking things step by step. All we will do is keep trying to get as many points as we can and see where that takes us. We are not looking any further than that."
Martinez admits he is at a club where there is pressure on him to deliver trophies.
Everton have not won any silverware since the 1995 FA Cup, and when asked about the prospect of going all the way in this competition, the manager said: "I think we are in a football club where we are expected to win things.
"I know it is a long time since we won a trophy. But the relationship between Everton and European competitions goes back to the 1950s. It is in our DNA and we need to galvanize it.
"Obviously we are in November, and if you start talking about where you can get in competitions, you might look a little bit foolish.
"What we want to do is every game we go into, we want to win it. I think the squad is large enough and has enough quality. We want to be in the Europa League as long as we can be."
Martinez had praise for the efforts of James McCarthy, another Toffees midfielder in Osman -- whose goal came on the day he agreed a one-year contract extension with Everton -- and skipper Jagielka, the defender now with four goals this term, including one for England.
Martinez said of McCarthy: "We talk about the 'holy trinity' [former Everton trio Alan Ball, Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall] -- everything about Everton is about that midfield three and with James McCarthy, Gareth Barry, the way Ross Barkley is, I'm really proud of that sort of midfielder.
"I think James McCarthy is growing and I thought his performance was at the level he has been showing week in week out."
On Jagielka, he said with a smile: "I told him off once, when he scored for England -- I said it was the last time I would see him scoring for England if he did not score at club level. And since that day he has been scoring goals.
And regarding 33-year-old Osman, Martinez said: "I thought it was a special memory for him today. Leon is celebrating his testimonial year -- something really rare in the modern game -- and he has been rewarded with a contract extension that is well deserved. The way he took the goal was him -- full of composure and quality."
Meanwhile, Martinez revealed Barry had sustained an ankle knock and cut shin which make him a doubt for Sunday's Premier League trip to Sunderland.