Everton FC boss David Moyes tells Louis Saha he can earn new deal by hitting goal-trail again

Dec 26 2011 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

DAVID Moyes has not ruled out giving Louis Saha a new deal this summer – but insisted the striker must start scoring again to earn it.

Saha’s current deal expires after this season, and Everton could offer the 33-year-old a one-year extension like his countryman Sylvain Distin.

But Moyes has challenged the former Manchester United forward, who has only found the net twice so far this term, to convince him by converting more chances in the second half of the campaign

He said: “At the turn of the year Louis had a good run, where he scored a few goals. His game is not all about goals though, he is someone who can link play up as well, that has always been his game. So we wouldn’t necessarily judge him on his goals alone.

“But he is in the last year of his contract, and that is something we will look at further down the line.

“We tend to wait, with respect to the older boys, until later on before we offer contracts. We don’t throw contracts at people just because of their age. But the boys know how it works. I think David Weir had a year’s contract for about four years in a row. If people perform, the chairman always rewards them here.”

Moyes believes that Saha will be extra motivated to hit top form from January, even if it is simply to attract a new club by May.

“I expect Louis to come good in the second half of the season. He not only needs to score goals for us, but if he wants to prove himself to anybody else then he needs to as well,” he said.

“I have always thought that players play better in the last year of their contract, because they are either proving it to their current employers or to any new suitors. That’s how I have seen it in my time.

“I am open minded on his future. We will not say too much about it now, and to be honest I have not given it an awful lot of thought.

“There is an incentive there, but there is an incentive for anybody. It is up to Louis to show he is up to it.”

Meanwhile, the Blues boss admits he relishes the festive fixture congestion, even if he is still aggrieved by Everton’s unfair share of away games.

“I do quite enjoy it,” he said. “I’m a manager now, but I grew up a football supporter and I think if you grow up watching football, you get used to watching it over the holiday period.

“I’m not so sure how they do the fixtures now, it seems to be changing all the time for the punters. But I think supporters like getting out of the house and going to the games. I certainly did when I was a boy. Some of the journeys they have to make and the times and the dates of games can be difficult.”