David Moyes looking up as he urges Everton to finish season strongly
Moyes' men welcome Manchester City to Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon
Everton boss David Moyes is looking up the Premier League table as he eyes a strong finish to the season.
Avoiding relegation was the focus when Moyes returned to Merseyside in January but, with six games left, the Toffees sit comfortably in midtable.
With potentially a bumper number of European spots up for grabs, there could even be a greater prize in Everton's sights than simply survival, although they sit 10 points behind 10th-placed Brighton.
"When I heard that it made me think can I keep pushing for it, keep trying to get round those numbers," said Moyes.
"That would mean us probably having to nearly go unbeaten. It just happens that we've got Man City and Chelsea next and we've still got to go to Newcastle at the end of the season as well.
"If you'd said to me that we were avoiding relegation when I came in I'd have said, 'Thanks very much, that's the job I'm here to do at the moment'. But it feels like I want to try and look up, I want to make the club feel better, I want us all to start to feel better.
"It's been magnificent with the supporters at the moment, they're joining in, they're helping us. And I think the team's giving them something to shout about as well."
Everton are midway through a very tough run of fixtures that has seen them lose narrowly to Liverpool, draw with Arsenal and beat Nottingham Forest.
On Saturday they host defending champions Manchester City, who face a major battle to secure Champions League football for next season.
Moyes has not been too surprised by Pep Guardiola's side's relative struggles this season, saying: "Football changes.
"Every time there's somebody at the top, everybody else is trying to catch them or beat them. There's been really good competition in recent years, whether it be Arsenal or Liverpool, Chelsea.
"They (City) have been an incredible football team and still are. It's always a difficult game here, we've not got a great record against them so we have to try and turn that around. You always get another chance in football and we're getting another chance to try and win that game."
Everton have lost their last eight matches against City at Goodison Park in league and cup dating back to a 4-0 victory in January 2017.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains absent for the Toffees, while Moyes said he will consider the future of teenage midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who is impressing on loan at Derby, in the summer.
"I'll assess that in the pre-season," said Moyes. "Hopefully he'll get some playing time and we'll see how he does and decide then if we think he needs another loan.
"But we like him and we want him around. The Championship's a tough league and it's credit to him that he's gone in there and got himself a steady position."