Everton v Wigan: David Moyes relishes extra pressure as he seeks to end his
trophy drought

It is tempting to promote every Everton fixture between now and the end of
the season as ‘make-or-break’; an FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday, another
chance to keep fading top-four aspirations aflame against Manchester City in
seven days’ time.

David Moyes readily accepts the observation while arguing that this is simply
a welcome symptom of having so much to play for in the final third of a
campaign.

There is a little more to it, of course, as Wigan Athletic arrive at Goodison
Park against the background of enduring uncertainty surrounding Moyes’s future.

Because there will be no clarification on this before the end of the season,
the temptation to add greater significance to success or failure is unavoidable.


Moyes is still pursuing his first trophy in 11 seasons on Merseyside, an anomaly
which does not reflect the progress and competitiveness he has restored during
that period.

He believes that his club have also revived their cup reputation in recent
years – Everton fans will enjoy a fourth Wembley trip in four years if they win
today – but there remains a glaring omission of trophies on his Goodison CV
which Moyes is desperate to correct.

His ambitions are not assisted today by the absence of goalkeeper Tim Howard,
who has fractured two bones in his back and could be out for up to six weeks,
and Phil Jagielka with an ankle injury.

With another trip to Wembley in view,
however, Moyes is eager for another tilt at ending what is becoming a top-four
strangehold on the competition.

“There are a lot of defining games for a lot of teams at this time of the
year, whether it’s Wigan or Everton,” Moyes said. “With every game now a win
propels you further forward and a defeat makes things much harder or, if it’s in
the cup, it puts you out.

The good thing for us is we are still fighting hard in
two competitions.

“Everyone here understands the importance of the game, although for most
clubs the priority is still the league.

If you give me the choice of qualifying
for the Champions League or FA Cup, I think I’d take fourth place because it
gives you that financial impact.

I’m sure Wigan would rather stay in the Premier
League.

“But it may be hard for us to make the top four now, so we want to win the FA
Cup.

“Of course, there is always that question ‘can Everton win a trophy?’ and
it’s right that is asked, so we’re going to try. We’re getting closer.

“I see it as a compliment when people see Everton as a side capable of
winning a trophy, or certainly not far off it, but it’s really difficult to do
it with the level of competition.

We’ve fought really hard to be a good league
side but recently, this is our third quarter-final in four years, and we’ve been
in a couple of semi-finals and the final so we’ve improved as a cup team.

“When folk say you’ve not won a trophy, you see the teams in the top four
tend to be the ones who win it. What you want to do is give yourself another
shot at it.

Some teams go out and don’t get that chance to think about or talk
about it again but we’re still in there and trying to get to the semi-final.”

The loss of Howard - who was injured against Oldham in the previous round -
is a serious blow, with Jan Mucha continuing to deputise.

“We don’t think he will be out for the season but we are not sure how long he
will be out,” Moyes said. “He has two fractures.

It just needs a bit of healing
time.”

Source: Chris Bascome The Telegraph