THE road between Everton and Manchester City is one well worn and the parallels between the two clubs equally as defined.

As managers, players and backroom staff have travelled from Goodison Park, Maine Road and latterly, to the new surroundings in Eastlands then back, the blue half of either city has been forced to watch as their rivals in red dominate not just their local landscape.

Howard Kendall of course, did more than most to puncture Liverpool’s status on Merseyside and as the club’s greatest ever manager, he dragged Everton to the summit at home and abroad.

In between Kendall’s first two spells in the Goodison Park hotseat was a brief tenure at Athletico Bilbao before he took the call from Man City in their hour of need.

That Kendall was charged with securing the club’s top flight status in December 1987, is a notion as far removed as possible from where Manchester City find themselves today, in the Champions League and with serious designs on winning the Premier League title.

As Kendall explains, the bottomless pit of money which propels City’s charge now was not afforded to him when he accepted the job at Maine Road.

Yet he went beyond the expectations and by the time Everton came calling, Kendall left the club top of the First Division table.

Kendall says he tried to incorporate the elements which had made his Everton side so successful in the mid-1980s, into his new project in Manchester.

But his heart remained with the club he played for and managed with distinction, describing Manchester City as an “affair” but life at Goodison Park like a “marriage”.

And as David Moyes prepares the current Blues side for a trip to the Etihad Stadium this weekend, Kendall maintains the belief Everton can prevail – even though he admits City are a force to be reckoned with.

“I could not really have expected Man City to be in the sort of position they are in now when I was manager there, I had very little to spend,” said Kendall.

“I tried to bring in players who I knew from my Everton days, players such as Adrian Heath, Peter Reid and Alan Harper. It was all really to get the club out of relegation trouble.

“As it turned out, we did it handsomely and in the next season it took off but that is when I was invited back to Everton and I couldn’t turn that down. I wanted to bring Peter Reid back with me but he said that if he got offered the job at Man City then he was staying there.

“Man City have spent fortunes in the past couple of seasons and finally it looks like it is starting to gel.

“Whereas in the past it appeared the manager was going out and spending millions and millions of pounds on whoever, there never seemed to be a clear system the team were trying to play to.

“For a while Man City looked as though they were bringing in players without a system but the side has now taken shape.

“It remains a difficult game for Everton but thankfully, the side are defensively very good. The back four and goalkeeper are a major strong point for the Blues. They are going to be tested though.

“Man City have so many exceptional players in their team and you’ll look at the team sheet and say ‘Oh dear, he’s playing and he’s playing’. Their strikers are obviously particularly dangerous.

“But Everton must concern themselves with getting the best out of their own players and we know Tim Cahill is a threat. Because of Cahill’s threat, you would imagine at their team meetings this week they have identified their best header of a ball and said ‘you see to him’ because Tim is such a threat in the air.

“Everton must be solid at the back on Saturday, tight in midfield and look to hit them on the counter attack. Without doubt playing 4-5-1 is what David Moyes will do.

“The back four have to be tight and they have been together long enough for this not to be a problem, whether that’s Phil Neville or Tony Hibbert at right back.

“Hibbert is a player that has to be appreciated by everybody at Everton. He goes out and gives 100% plus, everytime he pulls that blue shirt on. You can’t fault the lad.”