Hughes aims to follow Moyes blueprint

MARK Hughes will be casting envious eyes at Everton during the build-up to Manchester City’s Premier League showdown at Goodison Park tomorrow.

Hughes’ City side, backed by megarich Abu Dhabi owners, is in a period of transition.

His first mission was to stabilise the team, which seems to have been achieved, so now City will be aiming to take the next step.

That means matching the achievements of the likes of Everton, who have made steady progress in recent seasons without quite being able to end the dominance of the big four - Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Everton defeated United in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley on Sunday to reach the final of the FA Cup.

And last night they held their cup-final opponents Chelsea to a 0-0 draw in the league at Stamford Bridge.

The result kept Everton in sixth place, a point behind Aston Villa, but their excellent manager David Moyes is determined to overtake them.

"It means a lot to me to finish fifth," said Moyes. "If we do it this year it will be four top–six finishes out of five.

“So what we've done is a decent effort and Everton are becoming a side that is competing at a top level."

Moyes paid tribute to his players who produced another hardworking performance after their gruelling victory over United.

"It was a good point under the circumstances after playing 120 minutes on Sunday," said Moyes.

"We didn't have a massive amount of recovery before coming here to play a team who are in good form.

"The players have been playing great all season and I have to say well done to them.”

With the exception of the top four, Everton are probably the hardest team to beat in the Premier League, especially on their home turf.

But City can go to Merseyside knowing their league status is safe and that a successful run-in could see them break into the top seven.

Should they achieve that goal, then Hughes would be seen to be making real progress at Eastlands.

But with several players likely to be jettisoned in the summer to make way for some big-name signings, Hughes knows that the upward curve must continue next season if he is to satisfy his so-far patient employers.