Top four still Moyes's target after grim day for Mancini

It was impossible to leave a reverberating Goodison Park without reflecting on the future of the two managers, Roberto Mancini and David Moyes.

This was a grim day for Mancini, who saw any faint hopes of retaining the Premier League title disappear, so ensuring more speculation about his job prospects. Manchester City do not need a new manager. They just need Mancini to confront assorted issues: bonding the team more, criticising them in public less, bringing in another centre-forward, finding some width, replacing Javi Garcia with a more commanding ball-winning central midfielder, buying a top-class left-back with a good fitness record and cutting their losses on the likes of Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko.

City's defence of their title has bordered on the abject but it was always going to be complicated by Manchester United's hunger and recruitment of Robin van Persie. One poor season in the league does not make Mancini a bad manager. City are still in the FA Cup, Matija Nastasic's hugely promising development is a good signal for the future while there is a sensible, long-term plan in place behind the scenes as anyone who has peered behind the builders' hoardings at the Etihad Campus will know.

"There is an appreciation of Roberto from the supporters and the owners,'' said David Platt, Mancini's assistant and friend. "The expectancy levels of Roberto are a lot higher than what people think. If people want to talk about rumours and negatives that is up to them. All I know is that during his career he has won things. That is what his focus, desire and intensity is about. He won't want to stop wanting to win things.''

If Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero had been fit, Mancini's team might have made more of a fight of it at Goodison.

They were lacklustre, lacking leadership. Everton were better organised and motivated. Kevin Mirallas was wrongly ruled offside when beating Joe Hart. Seamus Coleman was the best player on the park, creating Leon Osman's elegant opener. Osman and Darron Gibson bossed midfield.

Even when Steven Pienaar was rightly dismissed for two yellows, Jan Mucha made saves from Carlos Tevez, James Milner and Pablo Zabaleta, although Everton were fortunate that Lee Probert ignored Marouane Fellaini's handball inside the area, indicating a non-existent Osman offence outside the box. At the death, Nikica Jelavic came off the bench to make it 2-0.

"We have beaten the champions at Goodison to keep our fight for a top-four place alive,'' said Moyes. "Eleven years ago we were beating Fulham to avoid relegation.'' It would be sad and illogical if Moyes were to walk away now, having built such a promising side. The FA Cup defeat by Wigan Athletic was a blip. The real Everton showed their new creativity in the first half and all their old resilience in the second half after Pienaar's red.

Victor Anichebe may be the key to making Moyes's preferred 4-4-1-1 system click. "He did the old-fashioned things - he ran around, created trouble and held the ball up,'' said Moyes. He provided an outlet and made space for the midfielders. Anichebe came on against Wigan only when Everton were trailing 3-0, a result that triggered some criticism towards Moyes.

"I wasn't hurt by the way people lost perspective last week and I can't even say I was surprised because it seemed that everybody thought the whole future of Everton was riding on that one game,'' said Moyes, who then made a point about Coleman, the type of low-cost, high-yield footballer that Everton must rely on.

"Coleman has things to learn defensively but he is coming on. We've had a week where people are questioning things and we've paid 60 grand for Seamus Coleman. That shows the progress we've made yet people were pointing the finger at me for not progressing the side. This has been a reminder to the fans about where we are and what we have achieved, and maybe they do need that reminder sometimes. Players like Coleman may be the way we have to continue moving forward.

"Would I rather be here than anywhere else on a day like this? Well, if you'd asked me that when I made a substitution that didn't seem that popular [like Steven Naismith for Mirallas] even though I felt it was right to keep us in the game, then there's a wee element of that as well!

"I felt I was being questioned at that moment, but maybe people are now big enough to turn around and concede that we perhaps got it right after all. I've definitely given Everton the respect with my work here and I hope that's mutual.''