Everton coach Jimmy Lumsden says the deal for Nikica Jelavic was a long time coming.

Outside observers may credit an element of fortune to Everton's capture of Nikica Jelavic for £5.5m in January, especially after his scintillating 11-goal start to life in the Premier League. But Lumsden believes it owes more to precision planning and hard work.

"We watched him for a long time, we always saw him and all had our opinions," he told the Liverpool Echo. "It was the same with Tim Cahill and Joleon Lescott - we must have watched them 20 times.

"Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka too. I watched Jags playing a lot for Sheffield United; in centre midfield and at right back. We scrutinise them and have different views. We debate it and watch them some more but importantly we prefer to always go to games and watch them. We'll never rely on watching DVDs of players.

"I'm not exaggerating when I say he works harder than anyone," adds Lumsden on manager David Moyes. "At the end of the season me and him were watching Crewe and Sir Alex Ferguson was there. They were the only two managers at the game. That sums David up and full credit to Fergie too because he could easily listen to people and not do the miles but he was there. That's the secret - hard work."