Fernandes praise for Everton team-mates and fans

Midfielder pleased with debut for Toffees

Manuel Fernandes says he was pleased with his debut for new club Everton in Saturday’s victory over Blackburn, and has paid tribute to his new team-mates for helping him settle quickly at Goodison Park.

Benfica-owned midfielder Fernandes joined the Toffees on a six-month loan deal last month having played the opening half of the season with Portsmouth, and was handed his first start in the 1-0 victory.

“I enjoyed the game and when you win it’s always good,” said the Portuguese.

“They are very good lads, it’s easy to fit in when everybody has such good spirit. The first thing is to settle into the first team and then we will see what happens (with my future) at the end of the season.”

“The atmosphere was really good,” said the 21-year-old when asked about his first impressions of the Goodison Park crowd. “In general the stadiums in England are unbelievable and everyone supports you when you play at home.”

Coach to weigh up permanent move

Fernandes impressed on his first outing in an Everton shirt, and manager David Moyes has expressed an interest in keeping him on Merseyside beyond the summer.

“Any players I bring here on loan, I always hope that if I think they do well, we would look to bring them here,” Moyes told the club’s website.

“I don’t like to bring players here just to give them games for other clubs. I am bringing them here with a view to taking them.”

With Everton out of the FA Cup, there is no fixture for them this coming weekend, so Fernandes will be looking towards keeping his place in the side for the home match with former team-mate Ricardo Rocha’s Tottenham on Wednesday 21st February.