• FA Cup

Cup exit has no influence on future, insists Moyes

David Moyes continues to remain tight-lipped on his future at Everton © PA Photos

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David Moyes has said Everton's FA Cup exit against Wigan will make no difference to his thinking as he weighs up his future.

He revealed in February that he would wait until the end of the season before making a decision and would use Everton's performance in the Premier League and FA Cup over the closing stages of the campaign to help him make up his mind.

Their FA Cup run ended at the quarter-final stage as Wigan won 3-0 at Goodison last Saturday, while they face a fight to qualify for Europe after winning only two of their last seven Premier League games.

But asked what effect the disappointment of the Wigan defeat had on his future, Moyes said: "It doesn't alter anything.

"The decision at the end of the season will be made by me and the players and how well we all do together - how high we finish in the league.

"It's never changed. I want the players to do well. You can see from the way they've spoken this week in the papers that they're ambitious to finish as high as they can, and get into Europe if they can.

"That's the same as the manager's ambition, and that's what we're going to try to work towards."

Everton have started to slip down the table in recent weeks, having been strong contenders for Champions League qualification at the turn of the year.

But they still lie seventh in the Premier League, two points off a Europa League spot and seven from a top-four place, as they prepare to host champions Manchester City on Saturday.

Moyes said: "I think the expectations have risen even higher. This season has seen the best football the team have played in my time here, with the quality of the players we've got and the style we're playing.

"The way we've gone about our job has, rightly, put the expectation at a level where people think Everton have got a chance of finishing in the top four, or winning one of the cups.

"So when that doesn't happen, it's a big shock. It's a big shock to us as well. We didn't expect what happened last Saturday."

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