Steven Naismith accepts it may take some time before Everton fans see him at his best. The 26-year-old has made just seven Premier League substitute appearances, scoring once, and believes he is still getting over last year's cruciate knee ligament operation - the second of his career.
"Being in and out of the team is part and parcel of coming back from a knee injury," said Naismith. "I think it is going to be like it for a while. I just have to keep plugging away and doing extra in training and I'll do that.
"You'll have some off-days but as long as the team is still winning and we are near the top of the table I'll be happy with that.
"The other week at Fulham I had a couple of chances when I came on and when you have guys like Steven Pienaar and the other boys going forward we are going to create chances.
"We have done that from the start of the season and we have taken our fair share and I will enjoy the opportunity to get on the end of them.
"There are a lot of quality players in this squad pushing for the starting XI and I have to be doing my best in training to show the manager he can count on me."
