The South Africa captain was instrumental in the Toffees' late-season surge after returning to Goodison Park on loan last term, netting four times in 14 appearances.
Pienaar's permanent return looks to be on the cards with the club having opened talks with Spurs over a deal for the midfielder.
Distin reckons with the re-capture of Pienaar, along with maybe one other new signing, Everton could once again be a formidable force come the 2012/13 campaign.
"We are looking forward to the new season," the French defender told the Liverpool Echo.
"If we can add Steven and maybe one other player, that would be great.
"Steven is the priority. When he came back last season, he changed the way we played. It was good to see him coming back. We have got everything crossed that he will be back soon.
"We have to be honest and say that we don't have the financial power of some of the other teams. But we will still keep competing.
"We hope not to lose any players but if we do, we will just keep working hard. We will fight to finish as high as we can.
"Hopefully we will keep everyone, get players like Pienaar and everything will be great."