Now Moyes wants to reach the elite again, and next season he will be hell bent on achieving his aims.

He said: "We are a side that is moving forward and growing. We are climbing a hill but we are not over the top of it yet. But I can see us doing that, hopefully, for years to come.

"It is always hard to win the Premier League with the four clubs above us, but the cup is realistic.

"Now we are getting Everton noticed again. This is another step in the right direction. We are now ready to run the big race."

For now, Moyes would be satisfied with winning the FA Cup, and he added: "We have developed along the way, the players have a great deal of confidence, they are playing well and the football has been excellent.

"There’s a desire, a sharpness and hunger about the players at the moment and they are in as good mental and physical condition as I have seen.

"There is everything you look for in a good side. I’m delighted with all that, we have developed along the way.

"The players have improved, they can play good football but when it comes to it they can dig in and fight when they have to.

"Everton should be in this position. There have been many years when the fans were used to winning leagues and cups, but all that was taken away from them by other reasons."

Everton, as champions, were the biggest losers from the European ban that followed the Heysel tragedy in 1985 and many of the club’s fans still feel aggrieved at that.

Now Moyes is plotting a way back to the big time for Everton.

He added: "We deserve to be there. We have beaten really good teams to get to Wembley and this is the end product of us doing well generally in recent seasons.

"We have a great group in the dressing room, and the characters we have as well. It is not all pally-pally all the time, I need them to dig each other out when things are not going well and to slap each other around a bit, metaphorically.

"We have honesty and a team ethic that cannot be matched anywhere else in the country. That comes from winning and the success we have had.

"We may not have won anything yet, but the players can see the progress and they are all part of it."