Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski have reiterated Everton's focus for the Premier League run-in after their crucial 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Goodison on Sunday.
Idrissa Gana Gueye and McNeil both scored from long range as the Blues secured back-to-back home wins to move five points clear of the bottom three.
After a damaging defeat to Chelsea at the start of the week, Tarkowski stressed the importance of delivering a response in front of a vocal and passionate Goodison.
“I’ll smile for now - we can enjoy it - but there is still a lot of work to be done,” said the centre-back.
“After Monday [against Chelsea], we needed to respond, and I think we did.
“These are tough games against teams down here [in the table], battling for their lives like we are.
“To come out on top, two great goals and a real resilient performance.
“Monday was a real bad day for us and for everyone at the Club. To respond, get to our home ground and perform the way we have, and get three points which is nice because it’s been a long time without winning many games. It’s nice to get three points on the board, but we’re not getting carried away.”
Five games remain for Everton this season, with home matches against Liverpool and Brentford to follow this week.
McNeil said the experience from manager Sean Dyche and players in the squad will be vital in the closing stages of the season.
“He (the manager) has been good. He’s been calm because he’s been in this situation before, a few of us have been as well,” said the winger, who made his 200th Premier League appearance against Forest.
“We know what needs to be done and like Tarky said, the job isn’t done yet.
“We know we’ve still got massive games coming up and we need to win more games.
“It’s massive getting three points today. Now we’ve got to get ready for the derby, take the momentum created today and carry it into that.”
Tarkowski added: “The fight is the minimum he expects from players and for his team. It’s what we have to got to do for this football club, it’s what the fans expect from us.
“It’s been a week of reminders of what we are, who we are, and how far we have come as a team.
“Monday was a reality check, but you get them from time-to-time. We bounced back today and hopefully that continues into the week.”
Three games remain at Goodison this season, and defender Tarkowski says Evertonians give the squad added belief they can produce results from any opponent in the league.
“When we perform like we do here [at Goodison Park] with the fans behind us, we know we can beat anyone,” he added.
“Today is a good way, but straight away we’ll be back in to recover and prepare for the game on Wednesday.”
