Source: SKY_Sports
Moyes - Tough to finish fourth
David Moyes is resigned to the fact that fourth spot may now be beyond his Everton side after their recent defeat to Portsmouth.
The Toffees' 2-1 defeat at Fratton Park before the international break coupled with Arsenal's 3-1 win over Newcastle meant that a gap of seven points had opened up between the two sides.
However with an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United to look forward to and European qualification yet to be secured Moyes' men still have plenty to play for.
The defeat on the South Coast was only the club's second in 14 games and the Scot believes that a similar run is needed if they are to nick that all important UEFA Champions League place.
"Losing at Portsmouth may well have made our Champions League qualification difficult with Arsenal winning," he said.
"But we will keep hanging on in there and hopefully try to catch them if we can.
"Those results make it doubly difficult but Arsenal still have Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea to play, that was why I was hoping to stay within four points of them.
"At the moment they are seven ahead so that is quite a gap."
Despite their lead Moyes is adamant that he will continue to push his side in the event of the Gunners slipping up.
"I don't know if I can say it is the final furlong yet because there is quite a way to go with the season going on until the end of May," he added.
"We want that final push if we can and we want the players to carry on doing what they have been doing because they have been very good up to now.
"We want that excitement to remain. The job is to keep it that way, that means getting to a cup final, hanging in there in the league and qualifying for Europe, because for me that is a big thing to do.
"If we can do that we can look back and decide whether it is a positive season or not."
The former Preston boss was left frustrated when the majority of his squad jetted off to represent their respective nations around the globe immediately after the Pompey defeat thus making it impossible to work on specific issues in training.
"When the players shoot away right after the game and you don't see them for nearly two weeks it can become a bit of a hindrance to you," he pointed out.
"You have a lot of thoughts in your head you want to get out but we are over it now and we have to move on.
"We have had two defeats in 18 games and some of the performances from the players have been fabulous in the circumstances and we can't fault them for what they have put in."
