Van Der Meyde eyes lifeline

Toffees winger hoping for a chance to prove his worth

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 8th December 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Van Der Meyde eyes lifeline

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Everton's forgotten man Andy van der Meyde may be handed an opportunity to resurrect his Toffees career.

With the Merseysiders having slipped to an agonising 3-2 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Sunday, David Moyes is expected to ring the changes at Goodison Park.

With only one victory secured on home soil this season Everton are in danger of seeing their European aspirations go up in smoke.

Whether a man who has been dogged by injuries and has been restricted to only a handful of appearances since moving to England in 2005 is the answer remains to be seen, but Van der Meyde is confident he can rise to the challenge if given a chance.

The Dutch winger was handed a late cameo during the dramatic encounter with Villa and is hoping to have given Moyes a selection dilemma ahead of the Toffees' trip to Manchester City on Saturday.

"I wanted to prove something to David Moyes and it was good for myself also," said the former Ajax and Inter Milan midfielder.

"I had been waiting for this moment a long time. I have been unlucky with injuries but hopefully now I am back in the team.

Trust

"I'm happy the fans trust in me and want to give me a chance. I hope I can give them something back.

"We have good players at Everton and if everyone is fit it is difficult to get in. So this is a good chance for me.

"I do not know if I will be involved against City, it is up to the gaffer. He's the boss and he makes the choices but I hope I am involved."

He added: "After such a long time it was nice to have the feeling of being part of the team again. I was so happy.

"They expect a lot here, the supporters. And they should do because we've got a good team and we should play well. We did not play badly (against Villa) but if you give it away in the last 10 seconds it is not good.

"In the first half especially we were the better team and we did not deserve to lose."