David Moyes has told Setanta Sports that he was extremely proud of his players after their FA Cup final defeat but says they must continue to challenge for silverware.
Everton took the lead against Chelsea just seconds into the game on Saturday through Louis Saha, but a first-half Didier Drogba equaliser followed by a 71st-minute Frank Lampard winner cost them the game.
And, despite failing to build on their early advantage, Moyes says he was delighted with the way his team battled.
“I’m extremely proud of the season that they’ve had and they were rightly in the cup final,” he told Setanta Sports.
“Today we came up against a better team than we were but we kept at it. We were never out of it.
“Probably at the moment when we thought we were on top, they scored their second goal.”
He added: “I thought we were resilient. We stuck at it but, just as we were getting a foothold in the game, Frank Lampard scores.
“It was an incredible start but we never built on it.
“If anything, it might have settled Chelsea down more – they started to play but we were maybe a little bit anxious after that.”
While Moyes admits that Chelsea were the better team, he remains determined the bridge the gap with the top four.
“We have to try,” he said.
“When we went out there today, there was no gap – it was 11 against 11.
“In the end, you have to accept that they were better than us today.”
The final was Moyes’ first since his arrival at Goodison Park in 2002, but he feels they can expect others in the near future.
“We’ve got to hope this is just a start and there’s going to be more,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to it.
“With the progress the players have made and the way the club is moving forward, I can see us getting more finals.
“I’m really proud of the players and how they’ve performed this season. I think they’ve put in a great effort and they should be pleased – but we want to win things.”