“To get to the final you have to beat a big team, so it doesn’t matter who is out,” he says. “There are a lot of good teams still in and maybe they are now thinking it could be their year.

“They’ll be thinking it’s good Liverpool and United are out. Who are the ones who are maybe fancying their chances but go out this round? We have to make sure that’s not us.

“I think it’s always strange how the Cup competition works. Nobody thought for a moment that United and Liverpool would go out in the third round. You never know.

“The games we had last year, playing Villa, Liverpool and United, we could have faltered. It’s a really difficult competition to judge. We’ll give it a go and try to go one step better if we can.”

Everton eventually saw off the challenge of Coca-Cola League One side Carlisle United in the previous round with late goals from Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines securing a 3-1 triumph.

Today’s opponents Birmingham are the Premier League’s form team having put together a 14-game unbeaten run, although the Midlanders required a replay to see off Nottingham Forest and secure their trip to Goodison.

And despite Everton's exhilarating run to the final last year, Moyes is acutely aware of the pitfalls that await in the FA Cup.

“We all really enjoyed the way the Cup went last season, the feeling of it, the momentum it built and we want a chance to do that again,” he says. “It can be taken away from you very quickly so you can’t build your hopes up too much. You can only win your next game.

“Last year, every game we thought was a tough draw, we never thought throughout the run that we had an easy game, yet we got through. You can’t take the FA Cup for granted.”

However, asked if the FA Cup winners should be awarded a Champions League place, Moyes responds: “It’s a consideration but I think the league here is so important I’d rather see it from the league position.

“You’re always better being known as a good league side than a good cup side as that shows a level of consistency through the season, but at this moment of time I wouldn’t mind being known as a good cup side!”

A feature of last season’s run to the final was the performances of young duo Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell, who both netted en route to Wembley.

And Moyes believes the pair – who are both closing on a first-team return – set an example for Everton’s other young players.

“I’m sure Seamus (Coleman) and James (Vaughan) will look at the FA Cup contribution of Dan and Jack last season as an example,” he says.

“They both made important contribution and helped us get to the final. If Seamus and Vaughany get their chances hopefully they’ll do as well as the two youngsters last year.”

Today will be Birmingham’s second visit to Goodison in five weeks having returned home with a 1-1 Premier League draw just before Christmas.

And Moyes says: “We thought we played quite well against Birmingham, but they were resilient at the end. They have been very hard to break down this season and defended really well, and when called upon the goalkeeper Joe Hart has helped them.

“They have scored their goals at the moments they have needed to, so they come here with confidence because of the run they have been on.”