Plenty to play for, says Moyes

Everton boss David Moyes has dismissed suggestions that his side’s season is as good as over and has set his sights on breaking into the top six.

The Toffees are one of very few clubs in the Premier League with relatively little left to play for, as they are nine points clear of the relegation places and are the same distance from qualifying for Europe.

But ahead of Saturday’s game against Wolves, Moyes insists he does not feel completely free of all relegation worries and instead wants to catch sixth-placed Liverpool.

“People look at us and say maybe Everton are in a position where it doesn’t matter, but it certainly matters to us because we want to try and get as close to the top as we can,” Moyes said.

“You never know how many points it will take to stay up. I don’t think any manager can come up with a figure on how much they’ll need to stay up.”

“We have to look up and see if we can catch the teams above us. Our main objective isn’t to beat Liverpool.”

“Our main objective is to do the best we can. But the next one is to try and overtake the team who’s next above us. If that happens to be Liverpool than so be it.”

But Moyes is expecting a tough afternoon against Wolves, who are second-from-bottom in the Premier League and are a point off safety.

Moyes added: “It’ll be tough, Wolves are a side needing points. We know it’ll be difficult. The pitch down there will be difficult if my viewing of it is correct.”

“They’ve had some great results, Wolves. I think Mick has done a fantastic job with them.”

“I know they’re in a difficult position and he’ll be desperate for the points. Every year they’re fighting and they’re always close. It’ll be a tough game for us, we know that.”

“Mick’s a good guy, everybody likes his dry sense of humour and his straight-forwardness. He works well with his players. He’s signed some good players.”

“But I think we’ve always been difficult to beat, and over the years we’ve tended to have a decent away record, picked up quite a few points.”

“So we’ve got to do that and finish the season on a high with the games we’ve got left away from home.”