There are many problems at Everton but a manager unable to impart his message after almost 10 years in charge is not one of them. A surprisingly upbeat Louis Saha is testament to that.

Ahead of the new campaign, and conscious of the financial constraints that have been made public via Bill Kenwright's meeting with the supporters' group The Blue Union, David Moyes held a clear-the-air discussion of his own. Assembling his squad at the club's Finch Farm training ground, he confirmed there was no money and that the new faces required to enhance competition, strength and morale within the Everton squad would not, in all likelihood, be forthcoming.

Moyes had one more message for the room of highly paid internationals, however: no excuses.

Whether Everton's existing crop can withstand the drain on already slender resources and ignore the furore over the lack of investment remains to be seen. Recent Premier League history suggests they will not, regardless of Moyes's orders. Home defeat by newly promoted Queens Park Rangers in their first match, followed by the manager drawing parallels with Sheffield United's fall from grace before a comfortable Carling Cup win over them on Wednesday, does not augur well ahead of Saturday's trip to another side attracted to crisis with indecent haste this season, Blackburn Rovers. Yet Saha has not bought into the despondency.

"The Premier League is getting better and harder every year but I do think this team can improve without new faces," the French striker claims. "We have a good squad, good players, but last year we found it hard to get any consistency because of the amount of injuries we had. We didn't start well and it can be very easy for negativity to surface when that happens. Confidence wasn't high after the start we made and the team was quickly under pressure because of our position in the league.

"I understand why the fans are frustrated. As a supporter you always want things to improve. But you know, people in the club, on the board, are trying hard. It is not easy to get the finance to spend on players. If it is possible, I'm sure they will do it, but it is not. There is nothing the board can do, nothing the players can do, so we just have to work hard and move on. I still think this season can be different."

Saha spent time in an oxygen chamber over the summer as he recovered from a serious ankle injury. The cynics might suggest the air has gone to the striker's head but, as Moyes has stated, this is a squad tipped for a Champions League challenge last season and into which most of Everton's money goes on wages.

"There may be more responsibility on me to score goals because we haven't brought anyone in but I don't think there is any footballer who wouldn't relish that responsibility," he says.

"We have a manager and chairman at Everton who know that part of the job is to get the best out of the players here. I am a goalscorer, I aim to get the best out of my ability and I'm pretty confident I can do that. I am also confident in the players I have got around me.

"For sure, everyone would be lifted by a new face but that is not the case right now. So the players have to step up. We have the quality. It could be Mikel [Arteta], it could be Tim Cahill, it could be [Marouane] Fellaini, it could be many players of the big players we have and because of that I am confident we are going to break the top five."

Optimism has had to become a default setting for Saha. His career has been plagued by injury and he is clearly not 100% this season, yet he refuses to brood – even at 33, he spent the summer analysing DVDs of his performances from last season as a means to improve – and has been recalled to the France squad by Laurent Blanc for next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers.

"Injuries have made me lose time and they have cost me trophies," he adds. "They have made me lose all the things I love. I love the game, I love football. But you have to accept the injuries and get over them in your mind. I feel I am ready to be one of the big players for Everton this season. I am here to help."