Twelve months ago Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, ruined David Moyes's birthday but the Everton manager has no intention of allowing Martin O'Neill to do the same at Goodison Park tomorrow.

On the corresponding weekend last season, Moyes was forced to endure the sight of a jubilant Ferguson doing a jig of delight on the touchline as United fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Everton 4-2 and put one hand on the Premier League trophy.

Having turned 45 yesterday, Moyes plans to prolong his birthday celebrations tomorrow when Aston Villa, a team in the ascendancy, visit Merseyside for a match that will go a long way towards deciding which team finishes fifth in the Premier League table. “It would be a great birthday present if we could beat Villa,” Moyes said.

It will require a rapid improvement if Everton are to thwart the threat of O'Neill's Villa side. Having chased Liverpool hard for fourth place and a Champions League berth, Everton's season is in danger of petering out to the extent where they could be forced to play in the Intertoto Cup this summer.

“We're not talking in those terms at the moment,” Moyes, who has seen his side win one of their previous six matches, said.

After scoring 15 times in their past three fixtures, all of which have ended in victory, Aston Villa will be confident of ending the weekend in fifth place with two games to play.

Yet Moyes has urged his players to take inspiration from Phil Neville, the captain, as Everton hope to finish the season “best of the rest” behind the big four in the table.

“At this time of the season you have got to be brave and you have got to be bold,” Moyes said. “It's one thing I'd say about Phil Neville. He's always brave and always wants the ball. He never hides from any situations. He's a good example for when things aren't going well. You keep working, and to be fair to him, he does that.

“They [Aston Villa] have got a wee bit of momentum with them at the moment. We had a lot of that around February and March. That's what happens in football. There are different periods when you are right on top of it.

“Now it is down to the nitty-gritty. We're trying to be positive and were hoping we're going to have another strong finish to the season. If we do then that will mean we've finished in the top six in three of the last four seasons.”