Van der Meyde's Everton vow

Van der Meyde: Everton vow

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Everton's forgotten man Andy van der Meyde is determined to stay at Goodison Park and fight for a regular first-team place.

The former Holland international winger, who has made a grand total of 12 Premier League starts since his £2million move from Internazionale in August 2005, had been linked with a move to Red Bull Salzburg.

But Van der Meyde, who has struggled with his fitness and off-field problems since arriving on Merseyside, still believes he can contribute to David Moyes' side.

Big challenge

He told the Liverpool Echo: "I need to stay as fit as I can and not get any more injuries. If I can do that, then maybe everything will be all right. I want to do my best.

"It's difficult but I hope I can still be important for Everton. I don't want to get too carried away. There is still lots of work to be done and there is big challenge ahead.

"I'm not looking to go anywhere else. I want to stay with Everton and that has always been the case. I have had difficult times but I want to give something back to everyone.

"I also want to do it for myself. It has been too long since I played well. I've been thinking about pre-season all summer and now I just want to get myself right."

Long time

Van der Meyde played the full 90 minutes of Saturday's 1-0 pre-season defeat by FC Sion and has vowed to continue working hard in the build-up the new campaign.

He added: "It was so nice to be playing again. It is such a long time since I have had that feeling. I played 90 minutes, we lost but the result doesn't count.

"Right now things are all about getting yourself into good physical shape and we had a really good week.

"If you put the hard work in now, you will get things back later on. Pre-season isn't nice for footballers but you have to get on with it and do your very best."