IT was the round of applause that neatly encapsulated Everton’s season. When Mikel Arteta’s name was announced among the substitutes in the Goodison dressing room before the FA Cup tie against Birmingham City last Saturday, his team-mates burst into a spontaneous ovation.

Such a response highlighted once again the togetherness and squad unity that has proven a bedrock to success under David Moyes and helped his team through their difficult first half of this campaign.

And it also underlined the relief that the sight of the Spanish schemer back in his number 10 shirt was another sign Everton’s crippling injury list is finally coming to an end.

“Mikel felt particularly bad because he’s been out for nearly a year,” says Moyes. “He was going so well and then it all went badly wrong when he though he was on his way back. Now he just wants to be out playing again, get his boots on and be part of it.

“The players applauded him when he was named on the bench for the first time because they realised how important he is to the squad.

“I’ve said for a long time that what we’ve got here is something special. There are a lot of clubs who’d love to have what we have. A real togetherness and helping one another.

“Maybe we don’t pay the biggest wages, don’t sign the most favourable players or spend the biggest money – but we get the maximum from the players and they give that to us. Because of that we bond really well.”

That bond has been severely tested in recent months. After three successive finishes inside the top six and an FA Cup final appearance last May, circumstances have combined to force Everton to lower their sights.

And Moyes admits he did not expect to be deal such a severe hand.

“It’s frustrating we’ve had a setback this season,” he says. “I’ve always said I wanted a football club that keeps moving on. That’s part of the whole development, you get to the top and win things.

“But the injuries cost us, I never thought it could be this bad. And I also think the Joleon (Lescott) situation set us back. But it’s gone now and the injuries are clearing up so we have to look forward and get back on the track we were on.

“I think the football we are playing has got us back on the track we were on. Just the glimpses of having Mikel Arteta on the pitch have got people saying ‘look how much they’ve missed him, even when he just comes on it has changed the way things look and feel’.

“It’s been difficult. I think Steven Pienaar has helped carry the team at times, you’ve had Tim Cahill and Phil Neville with his leadership. Others like Leon Osman have stepped up to the plate.”

Such efforts, and the steady drip of returning first-team regulars, have helped Everton arrest their autumn decline and propel themselves towards the brink of the European qualification places.

That said, the surprise FA Cup exit last week prompted Moyes to remind his players there was now an increased competition for places and that he would not be afraid of wielding the axe.