David Moyes has praised Everton’s team spirit and the Scot has said he still believes that they can qualify for the Champions League.
The Toffees are sixth in The Premier League and still on course for FA Cup glory despite battling with a sizeable injury list.
Moyes is delighted with his team’s commitment and belief, and the Scot has declared that Everton can still finish fourth this season.
The Goodison Park outfit will be without Tony Hibbert for a month with a thigh injury, but Moyes remains confident that his team, already without Mikel Arteta for the season, can challenge for the fourth spot.
Moyes said: "The players have been terrific. We have got through a difficult few weeks with problems over injuries and maintained our position in the table.
"I still believe fourth place is up for grabs, it will be hard to catch Aston Villa with them eight points ahead of us, but it is not something we will give up on.
"We are sixth at the moment, and that means a European spot now after Manchester United's (Carling Cup final) win at Wembley on Sunday.
"But I am looking much higher than that, it will be a tall order but not out of reach. If we can maintain our form of the last three months, we will not be far short of fourth or fifth.
"The players deserve the credit. If it was team spirit it was based on, Everton would be top of the league and probably European champions too.
"I gauge my players on what they give up for the team. We like solo stars who make things happen, but we love people who work for the team and their team-mates. That is what breeds spirit.”
He added: "We can still push Villa hard but it is a tough one and they are in pole position. There is a great character among the players.
“We have not accepted that because we are losing players through injuries that it is the end of the world and we can't win games.
"But we have not talked much about those who are out, it has galvanised us to a certain extent. We miss them and hope they recover quickly, but if they were fit and others out, they would expect me to do the same job."
Moyes expects Arteta to miss the start of next season, with the playmaker picking up a cruciate knee ligament injury against Newcastle.
The Scot said: "Mikel could well now miss the beginning of next season, I do not expect to have him for the first month."
Meanwhile, Everton midfielder John Paul Kissock will return from his one-month loan at Accrington, with the League Two club unable to afford his wages.
Reds boss John Coleman told the Lancashire Telegraph: "John Paul Kissock's loan finished on Saturday.
"Unfortunately we can't afford to commit any more money at the moment so it's not that we don't want him, just that we can't afford him. We'll just have to go with what we have."