Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is hurt by David Moyes' decision to leave him out on a regular basis.
Everton winger admits Moyes' snubs have hurt him
Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has admitted he has been hurt by manager David Moyes' decision to leave him out of the first team on a regular basis.
The Russian international has made just three starts this term as well as 16 appearances from the bench, his latest seeing him score in the 2-2 against West Ham on Saturday.
Bilyaletdinov joined the Toffees from Lokomotiv Moscow at the beginning of the 2009/10 season for a fee believed to be around £8.9million, but he has failed to nail down a regular place.
However, with defender Leighton Baines recently stating his wishes for a consistent left-sided partner following the departure of Steven Pienaar to Tottenham, the 25-year-old may now get his chance.
Bilyaletdinov was at a loss to explain why he has not been given more opportunities this season, but was hopeful that Pienaar's exit would give him the chance to start regularly.
Grip
"With the exit of Pienaar. I will have more chances and I am going to take a tight grip on them," he said.
"But at the same time I do not want that my return to the squad is connected only with the other man's exit.
"What do I feel? I feel hurt a bit.
"There are weeks when I fly in training, the coach speaks highly of me, but still I am not in the team.
"At such moments I try to focus on something positive, force myself to work even harder - for the future.
"The realisation that I am training in great conditions, in a strong team, participating in the strongest European league helps me."
