DELIGHTED David Moyes is confident his Everton players have the belief to qualify for the Champions League.
The Goodison Park outfit moved back into fourth place ahead of Liverpool with a resounding 2-0 win at Manchester City last night.
First-half goals from Yakubu and Joleon Lescott earned Everton a seventh away win of the season and sent them three points clear of their neighbours and Aston Villa with City and Portsmouth a further three points adrift.
And Moyes reckons the confidence coursing through his squad can push them towards a return among the elite of European football.
“I thought that was as close to being as good as we have had this season away from home,” said the Goodison Park manager.
“We limited them to few opportunities in the first half, and when in the second half they had some we defended very well. That said, if it wasn’t for their goalkeeper we’d have scored more goals.
“There’s a belief we can get good results. I believe we have a good team and the players are getting better.
“European football is definitely helping them. They have a great belief in what they are doing.
“It was very convincing and an excellent result for us.
“I thought we played well, defended well when they had the ball and kept our discipline and made it hard for them to break us down.”
Everton should have had the chance to score a greater winning margin when Micah Richards twice appeared to handle inside the area.
City ended the game with 10 men after Martin Petrov was dismissed by referee Rob Styles following a petulant kick out at Leon Osman in injury time.
With just six points covering just five teams in the race for fourth place, Moyes admits last night’s victory was an important step for Everton.
“This was City’s opportunity to get right in there,” he added. “They had a fantastic performance and result against Manchester United, we had a game in midweek against Brann and from that point of view you’d have to say that to come here and win is a great result.
“City are a good, improving side that will be competing against us to make a European spot.
“More and more teams are having a go at making it into the top four. Let’s be fair, football isn’t about money but it makes a difference.
“We’ve not had that ability to spend. If the table was based on spend, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in today.”
Yakubu’s strike took the Everton leading goalscorer to 16 for the season while Lescott now has eight.
And of the goalscorers, Moyes added: “I think Richards and Dunne are two of the best centre-halves in the country and Yakubu gave them a real good game. He did really well against them.
“And it’s an incredible bonus for Joleon to get the goals. Good centre-halves get 10 goals a season in my opinion and he’s getting near to that. He has grown in stature this season.”
Mikel Arteta was absent from Eastlands after a recurrence of his long-standing groin problem, but Moyes said: “I don’t think it’s that serious. He’s been going to Spain for treatment but he might be available for Sunday and, if not, then Thursday.”
Manuel Fernandes came on as a second-half substitute last night but departed 11 minutes later with a minor stomach problem.
Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted his team had been beaten by the better side.
“Everton defended very well and very deep, but I thought that we did well for the first 30 minutes until they scored,” he said.
“Then we conceded the second goal and after that it we very difficult. We tried but they blocked a lot of shots and we ended up giving them chances on the counter-attack.
“The dream is still to be in the Champions League, but we’re now six points behind and it looks like it is between the two teams from Liverpool now.”
Lee Carsley will miss the trip to Sunderland on Saturday week through suspension after picking up his fifth domestic booking of the season last night.
