Moyes delight at options
02 Sep 2007 - 09:34:18
Everton manager David Moyes pointed to the new-found strength of his substitutes bench after the narrow victory over Bolton.
Moyes added former Toffees hero Thomas Gravesen to his ranks on loan from Celtic on transfer deadline day and the veteran midfielder responded by setting up Joleon Lescott's late winner from a corner.
"For the first time I knew there were people behind me I could bring on and change the game from the bench," he said.
"We haven't had that at Everton an awful lot, but today I was able to look around and see if we could alter the game slightly.
"We had forwards and midfielders on the bench, people who could create teams, and in the end Thomas came on and he was a calming influence. He was the big difference.
"He brought a calmness to us and made us play better. He's lacking a bit of fitness, but he made some killer passes that helped us win the game."
Meanwhile, Moyes was delighted with the instant return from Yakubu following his 11th minute debut strike.
The Nigeria international joined the Toffees in a club record £11.25million transfer from Middlesbrough earlier in the week.
"It was great for Yakubu to get off the mark, but huge credit must go to Andy Johnson - that was a real strike partnership goal," added Moyes.