Moyes anticipating ´magical´ semi-final

David Moyes is delighted to be able to take Everton back to Wembley to face Liverpool in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.

It is 23 years since the two Merseyside clubs faced each other at the old Wembley and Moyes explained how he feels honoured to be the man who takes Everton to the game.

“It’s magical to go to Wembley again,” he said on Wednesday.

“To take Everton to Wembley and to take them into a derby game as well is something special.

“It hasn’t happened that often. It used to happen a lot. I think the 1980s was probably the time when it happened most but I think to be the manager of Everton, take them back to Wembley again and to get the supporters there, I think that’s special.”

Moyes has had to contend with numerous injuries to his players this season but has revealed he could have a completely fit squad going into Saturday’s tie, something which he feels gives them a good chance of progression.

“I think everybody is okay. We’ve got a few knocks and bruises, which you would expect after a game, but with a bit of luck we’ll have a fully fit squad,” he said.

“I was always going to have difficult decisions, we’ve got a squad which is playing well at the moment and we could quite easily pick a number of players. It’s good, we’ve got a good choice to make.

“We’ve made changes probably for the last six weeks and in the main it has worked very well for us. I think when you’ve got a squad of players and you’ve got most of them fit, you’ve got to keep them all hungry and playing and giving them games at the right time. We’ve tried to do that and we’ve tried to get the decisions right as often as we can.”

Everton suffered a slow start to the season but since the turn of the year, the Toffees have found a rich vein of form and have climbed back up the Premier League table.

Moyes hailed the quality and commitment of his players, particularly those who came to Goodison Park during the January transfer window.

“The form the players are in, the confidence they’re playing with, the results, the goals we’re scoring in games – all those things have definitely shown we’ve improved,” he said.

“On numerous occasions now I think I’ve said the boys in January made a big difference but there’s big credit to the boys who were already here.

“They’ve buckled down and got their form back going again and we rely a lot on the boys who have been around a long time and they’re all in good form, thankfully.”