Everton captain Phil Jagielka says his team can be "superstars" by beating Liverpool next Saturday -- but has warned that relegation remains a threat.
Jagielka led his side to a 1-0 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace, ending a run of eight matches in all competitions without a win.
The result lifted Roberto Martinez's side, who are 12th, seven points clear of the relegation zone ahead of the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Jagielka feels the win has answered those who have criticised Martinez for his tactics and the players for their performances in recent weeks.
The centre-back, 32, told the Liverpool Echo: "The way things go, especially in football, we tend to build people up very quickly and shoot them down just as quickly.
"That is the same with us -- the manager and the players. We have taken a lot of stick but people pay a lot of money to come and see us play. They are allowed their opinion, we understand that and we know that is the nature of the beast. We will keep going for as long as the season goes.
"You are superstars if you win, although a 1-0 win doesn't make us superstars yet. But a victory next week against Liverpool might."
Jagielka, though, has acknowledged that Everton have to put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone before they can start looking up the Premier League table.
Martinez's side face a trip to league leaders Chelsea four days after facing Liverpool, before travelling to Switzerland for the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie against Young Boys. He said: "There is still a long way to go in the season. We have got a lot of confidence in this squad but when you are not winning games or picking up three points, then that gap gets smaller and smaller.
"We know we have got a difficult run coming up and as players you can't help to look to the future and know you have to start winning sooner or later.
"With the squad that the manager has got here that we shouldn't be looking over our shoulder but we are not stupid enough to think that we are too good not to."