Fuente : Everton FC
http://www.evertonfc.com/

EVERTON FC: LI TIE'S LICENCE TO THRILL

/noticias.info/ Li Tie is eager to make the most of his new attacking licence against Liverpool in Tuesday night's mini-derby at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground (kick-off 7pm).

The new FA Premier Reserve League season is less than a week old and the Blues are already facing up to a derby against Liverpool.

And Li Tie is set to continue his return to full fitness as the creative attacking force in an otherwise very young Everton reserve side.

The midfielder has now fully recovered from the shin injury that he first sustained on international duty in February 2004 and which has prevented him playing any part in a competitive first team game since January of that year.

He has been training with his first-team colleagues throughout pre-season and in the last week has been an unused substitute for the Champions League game against Villarreal before getting a full 90 minutes for the reserves against Wolves 24 hours later.

Li Tie told evertonfc.com: "I am so happy to be busy.

"My bad injury kept me out for 18 months but I was looking forward to playing all the time. When you are injured you have plenty of time; you don’t need to travel with the team and you don’t need to get ready for a match. No footballer is happy with that situation.

"My position is a little bit different in reserve games because the manager wants me to pay more attention on attacking the defence, so I may look more active in reserve games.

"I played well in the reserves on Wednesday and we should have won because we created a lot of chances."

Li Tie may have impressed in the 1-0 defeat to Wolves, but he was delighted to get onto the bench against Villarreal.

He added: "It's really a good start for me. The Champion’s League is always the match you would like to take part in but I am not greedy.

"I enjoyed every second of the 90 minutes watching on the bench. I was happy because my name was on the list and I knew my chance might come at any minute. I watched a lot of matches last season but they were different because I knew I had no chance to play.

"I’ve already played five friendly matches in pre-season and I know I’ve improving a lot. But it’s no enough, I still have long way to go.

"Being off the pitch for 18 months, the biggest damage is your feeling on the pitch. You may lose your touch on the ball or the accuracy of your passing. I am not unrealistic, I know it takes time to get all your feeling back, including your confidence. The only way to improve is to play as many matches as you can. I am very happy the manager has given me plenty of chance to play matches."

While Li Tie's ultimate aim is to get back into the first-team side on a regular basis, he is willing to be patient and make the most of his reserve team opportunities during what he hopes will be a long season for him.

He added: "I’ve not played any league match for 18 month. I’d like to play every match this season if I could, that’s my wish, but it’s just a wish.

"I know I am not good enough to play regularly in the first team at the moment, but I will try. I am going to give the best I can to get a chance to play. I was in the squad on Tuesday night and I completed 90 minutes in the reserve game. That is not bad for a start. I am a hard worker and I will carry on step-by-step."

That next step is against Liverpool. Another eye-catching display in that game on Tuesday night will do Li Tie's cause no harm whatsoever.
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