Slaven Bilic has given the strongest indication yet that Winston Reid is set for a recall against Everton.
He told the media this morning: “He is OK, he picked up an injury against Sunderland, but now has recovered well. He is very important for us so we are happy to have him back.”
And he also described his own feelings ahead of the game against his former club declaring: “On one hand yes (it’s important) on the other no. Every game is special for different reasons.
Everton are a great side, big club with good players. It’s a great test for us and I am looking forward to it, definitely yes.”
And commenting on a record which shows one Irons League win over The Toffees in eight years he added: “That is a lot, it shows how difficult Saturday’s game will be. It’s a bit of a surprise to me but it doesn’t worry me too much because those games are in the past.
It will only affect us if we allow it to, if we think about it too much then it might have an impact on confidence, but we should be able to deal with that.
“Every game is different, and you have to go and prove yourself from the first whistle every time.”
He explained the team will be decided later today or tomorrow and of Enner Valencia said: “From a fitness perspective he is in a good way, he just needs to get his match fitness up. He is very close to being ready, but it depends which game that’ll be.