Tim Cahill has warned Everton should not get too carried away with their cup success - because West Ham will come roaring back this weekend.
Ayegbeni Yakubu struck a late winner at Upton Park on Wednesday to put the Toffees through to the Carling Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1988.
Cahill hailed it as "a very big moment for Everton Football Club". But attention has already turned to the sides' rematch at the same venue, in the Barclays Premier League, tomorrow.
The Australian said: "I can't emphasise how much we need to keep our feet on the floor. There is no way in hell that we will think that, just because we won Wednesday night, we will win at the weekend - because they are a good football club.
"The cup is a competition we want to do well in - and we are in the semi-final now. We enjoyed that the other night but now we have to concentrate on West Ham at the weekend, because they will come back firing.
"We are definitely wary there will be backlash but we have to prepare in the same way.
"It is a quick turnaround for us, and we have to make sure we are in the right shape to take on an in-form West Ham team on Saturday."
Nevertheless, Everton realise what an excellent opportunity they now have to win their first silverware since beating Manchester United in the 1995 FA Cup final.
They had trailed to a Carlton Cole goal on Wednesday, but Leon Osman levelled before Yakubu scrambled in his 88th-minute clincher.
"The gaffer said to every single player and the staff how much it meant to everyone," Cahill, 28, added.
"It is good to have this success.
"We talked before the game how important this was to us and how hard it would be to go to a place like that."
"We went down in the first half. But you could see we were playing a lot of football and trying to penetrate West Ham, and we got the rewards."
Cahill also had high praise for Nigeria forward Yakubu, who has now scored 10 goals in all competitions.
"He is very important for us," he said.
"He is a big boy; he holds the ball up, brings people into play and causes some trouble.
"You saw that at the end, where he got into West Ham's faces - and fortunately the ball fell to him. He is an opportunist.
"Yak's form is priceless, and his goal statistics speak for themselves."
