Moyes rallies Toffees for must-win Villa clash

EVERTON manager David Moyes believes his team need to win their remaining five matches if a Europa League slot is to remain a possibility.

It would certainly be a remarkable achievement given the way they stumbled through the opening part of the campaign when a number of key personnel were injured.

Since the turn of the year Everton have been one of the form sides, picking up 28 points from a possible 42.

That string of good results has seen them move to eighth place, four points behind tonight’s opponents Aston Villa, who also have a match in hand.

Asked if it was a must-win, Moyes said: “It probably is. We have to win our games to make Europe.

“We have always been coming from behind. We had a poor start, the hard part was having three or four serious injuries, and we’ve been playing catch up. We have done a pretty good job.

“We still have a chance of a European spot but we need to overhaul Aston Villa. We will do everything we can. We might need other people to help us out but if we don’t do our job, it does not matter. The players are making a decent fist of it and have done well to get us into this position.”

For his part Villa boss Martin O’Neill has challenged his players to hit Everton with a backlash tonight.

O’Neill does not expect any hangover after Villa’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea last Saturday.

Villa, also beaten at Wembley in the Carling Cup final by Manchester United, have become outsiders in the race to finish fourth after slipping eight points behind Manchester City.

But the clash with Everton is their game in hand and O’Neill said: “After the disappointment of the weekend we just have to get on with the games to come. The players are very upbeat. We have an opportunity against Everton to win a game and put ourselves back in contention. We are totally focused on trying to beat Everton.’’