David Moyes believes Everton's 1-0 win at Sunderland proved they possess the character to claim fourth place in the Premier League.The Toffees underperformed in their 2-0 defeat away to Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup in midweek and Moyes was delighted with the way his side dealt with that disappointment - and the short turnaround between matches - at the Stadium of Light.

There was an element of fortune in the result, with the winner careering into the net after a deflection from Andrew Johnson's arm, but Moyes believes the gutsy display spoke volumes for his side.

"It was always going to be a test. We got back late (from Italy) on Friday, travelled here yesterday and it can have its effects," he said.

"We keep getting told you don't win games when you're coming back from Europe, but I think that's a couple of times we've done it now.

"We could have gone to Fiorentina and played very well and lost 2-0 but we didn't, we played very badly.

"But the players showed great character, rolled up their sleeves and came away with three valuable points."

And the Scot, who is looking to pip city rivals Liverpool into fourth place for the second time as Everton boss, believes the victory sends out an important message about the tenacity of his squad.

While the performance was a world away from the 7-1 thrashing the Toffees doled out when the sides last met in November, Moyes feels it could have even greater consequences on his team's run-in.

"Everybody was looking to see how we would react and, to me, they've shown they can stand up to that.

"We can only do what we can do (to finish fourth), but we're going to try and stay the distance," said Moyes.

"We have a difficult month ahead but we need to keep winning and be in a good position at the end of this month."

Sunderland manager Roy Keane admits defeat here, coupled with a disappointing 0-0 draw against bottom club Derby last time out, has hit hard but insists his side have both the quality and the self-belief to avoid relegation.

"I think there's five, six, seven teams down there fighting and we've said all along it might go to the last week or two.

"Our run-in is as difficult as anyone's which is why it's been disappointing this last week. We thought we had the opportunity to get three points at Derby and maybe a draw today," said the former Manchester United captain.

"Yes, the players are down and disappointed. The day they are not after a defeat will be a very sad day for the club.

"But we'll lick our wounds and get ready for another tough game (against Chelsea on Saturday).

"You have to keep believing, sometimes it's hard when you lose, but the spirit among the players is the least of my worries."

Keane did not contest the winning goal but accepts it as another hard lesson in what has been a tough term back in the top flight.

"It came off his arm but I think it would have been very harsh of the referee to disallow it. We have the benefit of replays but at the time we didn't think for a minute that it had struck his arm.

"But you deal with setbacks. We've had our fair share, whether it be disappointing results, heavy defeats or decisions we feel have gone against us.

"That's the test of any manager or any player and we have to be positive for our next game."

Keane, meanwhile, defended Phil Bardsley who was booked for an ugly-looking tackle on Steven Pienaar in the second-half.

"Bards is not that kind of lad, but he is a tenacious full-back," said Keane.

"The referee had a good view of it and a yellow card was probably a fair punishment."

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