Naismith reflects on derby

Steven Naismith has spoken of his satisfaction at netting his first goal for the blues in the Merseyside derby.

The Scotland international said, “at least I´m off the mark now for Everton and I can build on it. This first period is about settling in and getting used to the training.

“I never came expecting to play every week. But I work hard every day to get back to where I was before and this was just another step towards that.”

He went on to praise the performances of his team mates, particularly Belgian winger Kevin Mirallas. He said “Kevin was our main direct threat in the derby in terms of driving at defenders and it showed with the amount of chances he was creating for himself and others.

“Losing him at half-time in the game was a blow, but Liverpool changed their system in the second half as well and it became a bit scrappy with a lot of fouls – the game kept getting stopped which didn´t help.

“Looking back, there was some great play from us too – switching sides and with Kevin being a massive threat creating chances.

“When you´ve got guys like Kevin, Felli and Jelavic, you know they´re going to put the ball in there and it gives us a chance to gamble on being on the end of it.”