Phil Neville is targeting Liverpool in the final two months of the season, during which the Everton captain admits "anything can happen".
However, even if they were to finish above their city rivals in the Premier League the defender will not class that as success.
The Toffees have clawed themselves back up to eighth in the table, five points behind Liverpool, after a five-match unbeaten league run which has been achieved despite injuries to key players like Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini.
Now Neville feels they are in a position to push on in their remaining eight matches.
"The thing with the league this year is that there have been so many times when we've thought we can push into the top half and make inroads into the top seven and we've always faltered," said the captain.
"Now we're eighth and the way it's going this year anything can happen.
"We've just got to finish as high as possible. There are eight games left and I don't think one team from that middle section have put a run together yet.
"We aim to be above Bolton, Sunderland and Liverpool. If we finish in front of Liverpool and don't achieve anything, that's still a failure for me."
Neville believes the team have displayed the kind of attitude in adversity which has allowed them to flourish in previous years.
"The teams around us are all scrapping too, and maybe we have to go back to three or four years ago when we had to grind out results," he told the Liverpool Echo.
"This club is ingrained in that kind of spirit and that's what the manager wants from us now.
"On the quiet we're developing a nice little run."
