DARRON GIBSON can pull the strings at the heart of Everton’s new look midfield next season after he produced an eye-catching display in the 4-1 friendly win over Accrington Stanley, says Graeme Jones.

The Blues assistant manager was delighted with what he saw from the Republic of Ireland international during a confident victory over James Beattie’s League Two side at the Storefirst.com Stadium last night.

Kevin Mirallas scored one and created another two as the Blues took command during the first half in Lancashire, and ultimately gave Roberto Martinez his first victory as Everton manager.

Now Martinez and his number two Jones will oversee a further nine days of training before their side’s next outing against Blackburn Rovers on July 27, but Jones is excited about Everton’s potential for the forthcoming campaign.

He said: “We need to keep Darron fit because everyone has seen his quality tonight and a lot of our play went through him. Early on he looks like our playmaker although there’s a long way to go.

“He’s a fit boy but he’s been unfortunate in the past to pick up a few injuries. He’s in the prime of his career now though and hopefully he’s going to have a pattern of play that suits his talent.

“We’ve got four weeks to go and we need to take advantage of every day to make sure we peak for Norwich today.”

Just as against Austria Vienna on Sunday Martinez again took the opportunity to road-test several of his younger players last night, with 18-year-old academy graduate Conor Grant making his second consecutive cameo from the bench.

The teenager looked at home alongside Everton’s established internationals, and his confident start to the pre-season has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

“It’s still a physical exercise at this stage with bits of the technical side coming in,” said former Wigan assistant boss Jones.

“But Conor Grant has done great. He’s a young man with exceptional technical ability.

“One long switch of play tonight when the angles were against him and he found his man was great. We’re pleased with his progress, and all of them so far. We’re certainly pleased with the group of players we’ve inherited.”