Naismith: The manager told me what to do and it worked
Everton game changer Steven Naismith says that some words of advice before he came on against Fulham was decisive in changing the performance and helping to beat a resolute Fulham team.
A below par Everton performance was on the cards and the game looked to be getting away from Everton when Naismith was introduced and had an immediate impact to help transform the game.
Naismith said: “I’d had wee bits and bobs [of appearances] these last three or four games but I had a decent run today. It was a bit flat in the first half but I could see there were wee pockets in front of the back four.
“When I came on that was what the manager wanted me to exploit and that’s what I tried to do. I managed to contribute with a couple of goals.
“I’ve not seen it again [the first goal] but it was between the posts so I’m still claiming it! It was one of those, I saw it come off the defender’s head, I followed it all the way and just tried to get it on target. Fortunately enough it went in and gave us the spark we needed to push on.”
He added: “Fulham in the first half were the better team. They had the better chances and throughout the game I thought they played well.
“We knew that when Tim [Howard] made some great saves we had to capitalise to make a statement on the league, and we managed to do that by getting some goals late on.
“I’ve contributed, Kevin [Mirallas] has come off the bench and contributed, and so did Aiden [McGeady]. We’ve not got the biggest squad but the manager has made it clear he is going to use everyone and you have got to be ready.”
Naismith also believes that the club have a good chance of getting into the Champions League football and says that the club have to maintain confidence heading into the last 7 fixtures of the season.
“We’ve believed all season that we can compete for Champions League football or European football and that’s got to be the aim still,” he said.
“We had a month where we had bad results against Chelsea and Spurs but we have bounced back with five wins. The confidence is strong in the squad and we need to keep following that on with good results.”
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