David Moyes pleaded with Everton supporters to be patient with new signings Marouane Fellaini and Segundo Castillo, after the midfielders were handed a baptism of fire on their Barclays Premier League debuts at Stoke.
Club record £15million signing from Standard Liege Fellaini and Castillo, on loan from Serbian side Red Star Belgrade, started yesterday's 3-2 win at the Britannia Stadium - despite linking up late with the rest of the Everton squad following international duty with Belgium and Ecuador respectively.
Castillo experienced problems flying back from South America and did not arrive back in England until Friday.
Moyes, sent to the stands for his reaction when referee Alan Wiley did not award Everton a penalty the manager thought they deserved, felt Fellaini and Castillo acquitted themselves well in the first half and expects them to improve.
He said: ‘The hardest thing was to try and get those players integrated, and I think after playing Stoke the two boys might wonder what they have come to England for. They will be thinking 'is it always like this?
‘But it takes time for players to settle, especially when they are coming in from another country and another culture.’
Asked whether he planned to sign the new contract on offer to him at Goodison Park, Moyes said: ‘I hope there will be some more news on that in the next few days or so.’
Stoke manager Tony Pulis, meanwhile, is worried that the growing trend of billionaire owners at Premier League clubs may have a detrimental effect on the future of the English game.
On September 1, Manchester City became the latest club to be taken over by foreign investors when they were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
They promptly smashed the British transfer record, paying Spanish champions Real Madrid £32.5million for Robinho.
Pulis is concerned that such takeovers will see clubs abandon their youth policies in favour of spending millions of pounds on trying to entice the world's best players, something he believes will ultimately affect the England national team.
The Stoke boss has called on the football authorities to take action before it is too late.
Pulis said: ‘Football in this country is changing rapidly, especially at the top end, and Manchester City are the latest club to move into the billionaire bracket after acquiring new owners promising no end of money and success.
‘I am sure City supporters are delighted and I have no right to question the intentions of the new owners - good luck to them, in fact - but you have to wonder where it leaves our national sport.
‘There are many kids coming through youth systems - but with managers under pressure to deliver and these new owners offering them an open cheque book to work from, will that talent get lost in the wash? And where does that leave the national team in the long term?
‘Individuals like me don't have the power to change things. But the football authorities do, and perhaps now is the time to take some action for the good of the game.
‘Perhaps they should insist that new owners set aside a certain figure for grassroots development.
‘Yes, the likes of Manchester City will now take a massive leap forward - but where does it leave the game as a whole?’
