"The players needed to show character and quality in front of the fans," he said.
"Everything was positive against Chelsea and the confidence is high. I think it will help us ahead of the derby. To go to Goodison Park and beat them would be difficult but clearly we can do it.
"I think that anything can happen in these types of games. Again, you have to think about your team and the quality of your players, so I am confident we will go through."