Louis Saha: Me and Yakubu can strike fear up front
EVERTON'S Louis Saha hopes that his fledgling strike partnership with Ayegbeni Yakubu can produce the goals to fire up the side's season - starting with tomorrow's derby match at Goodison Park.
Saha, 30, whose move to Merseyside was sealed on transfer deadline day, played his first full game for his new club in Wednesday's 1-0 Carling Cup exit at Blackburn.
The loss came on the back of the Frenchman's impressive second half debut at Hull on Sunday as he helped David Moyes's side recover from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2.
During his time in the Premier League, Saha has played up front alongside some of the game's leading goalscorers including Alan Shearer at Newcastle and Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United and he is hoping that his combination with the Nigerian, who last season became the first Everton player to break the 20-goal barrier since Peter Beardsley, will be a fruitful one.
He said: "There were good signs between myself and Yak, but again it is going to take time.
"The main thing is the team. It's not just about our partnership.
"We are both just interested in doing our best for everyone here."
Saha and his team-mates are still smarting from a second defeat to Paul Ince's side in just over a month but he reckons tomorrow's 208th Merseyside Derby is the perfect game for them to banish their disappointment after David Moyes's side were booed off by large sections of the travelling fans at Ewood Park.
He said: "It was a very disappointing night.
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"The only positive we can take from the game is a reaction to put it right.
"We are determined to do that, as we know we did not play well against Blackburn.
"Credit to Blackburn. They had a game plan and they stuck to it.
"It wasn't as if we were playing at home against a team that we should have beaten, but we still feel that we should have done much better."
Saha added: "I know we are a hard-working team and when we are faced with games like this (against Liverpool) we usually take the opportunity to show that.
"It was a difficult night but we still have new players adapting to things here. It has been a bit of a rush.
We wanted to have some more games to get to know to each other but we have been denied that now by losing to Blackburn. We thought this (Carling Cup) was a good opportunity to win a trophy, so it is all the more disappointing to have gone out so soon."
Having arrived at Goodison with a calf problem , Saha was pleased to make his first Everton start - and was equally thrilled to get through 90 minutes for the first time since December 29 last year.
He said: "It was nice to get 90 minutes under my belt. I still need some time to adapt but I am quite happy with my fitness."
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