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DAVID MOYES would be forgiven for casting an admiring glance at Sunderland’s attacking options.

Having spent £10million for Darren Bent from Tottenham last year, Black Cats boss Steve Bruce was able to shell out a club record £13million for Ghana international Asamoah Gyan from Rennes this summer.

Both have played starring roles in Sunderland’s impressive start to the campaign which has led them to sixth in the Premier League on the back of last weekend’s remarkable demolition of Chelsea.

Bent, who is in line to return against Everton on Monday night after a hamstring injury, has already netted eight times, while Gyan has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks with four goals in the last three games to take his tally to six.

In stark contrast Moyes’ frontmen can’t buy a goal.

Louis Saha hasn’t scored in the league for nine months, while Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford have just one apiece this season.

Just 14 goals scored in 13 league games so far explains why Everton find themselves in the bottom half of the table.

However, rather than envy his rivals’ greater financial muscle, Moyes insists he’s focused on getting the best out of what he’s got at Everton.

“Sunderland have got some exciting forwards,” he said.

“They’ve spent money and decided to have a go for it.

“They’ve spent money on Bent and Gyan and also taken Danny Welbeck on loan (from Manchester United).

“Is that the difference? I don’t know. We always knew we could be a bit short at the top end. If we could have we would have tried to add more there in the summer.

“But I’ve got to make sure I motivate and promote the players I’ve got and I’ll continue to do that.”

Last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal ended the Blues’ seven-game unbeaten run.

Having started with just Saha up front, Moyes introduced both Beckford and Yakubu midway through the second half.

The injection of attacking impetus led to a late revival which saw Tim Cahill halve the deficit but the manager is unlikely to deviate from his favoured system on Monday night.

“If I thought it was right (to play with more strikers) I would have done it from the start,” he added.

“If I’d done that and been wide open against Arsenal and lost people would have said ‘why are you doing that on the back of seven games unbeaten?’.

“The fact is we hadn’t been doing an awful lot wrong. We just needed to score more goals.”

Everton have a proud record against the Black Cats having won 10 and drawn two of the last 12 meetings between the clubs, including a 7-1 thrashing at Goodison three years ago.

It was December 2001 the last time the Blues were beaten by Sunderland but Moyes is wary of Bruce’s side.

Three weeks ago they were embarrassed 5-1 by arch rivals Newcastle but have responded in style with victory over Stoke followed by a point at Tottenham before last Sunday’s stunning win at Stamford Bridge.

“That was a great result for Sunderland and they’ve bounced back really well from the defeat to Newcastle,” Moyes said.

“Steve has turned them around but I didn’t think they were ever a bad team. They just had one bad result and have put that right.

“We’ve got a decent record against them and hopefully we can keep that going but we won’t underestimate Sunderland.

“We were on a decent run before we lost to Arsenal and the defeat was to a good team. It was tight and we still had a good chance at the end.”

There was relief for Moyes yesterday after his international contingent returned from the midweek friendlies unscathed.

Long-term absentees Victor Anichebe and Leon Osman are still out, while Marouane Fellaini serves the second of a three-game suspension.

“We’re waiting on Steven Pienaar to get back but everyone else has returned fit and well,” Moyes said.

“I’m not mad keen on Monday night games. If you ask players or managers, it’s not the slot we would pick but I know it’s attractive to people sitting watching at home.”

Meanwhile, Black Cats boss Bruce has told his Sunderland players to forget about their heroics at Chelsea.

He said: “Apart from the Newcastle debacle, we have been playing very well. That’s the top seven we have played against and been undefeated. We have played very well against Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, without maybe that cutting edge.

“On Sunday, we had that cutting edge where every time we went forward, we looked a threat.

“To have 18 attempts on Chelsea’s goal is remarkable. I think I have had 18 attempts in 10 years. It was a wonderful performance but it’s history and we must look forward to the next game. We have hit standards we hope we can keep setting.”