Cahill reveals ground move is reason to stay

Jul 31 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

Tim Cahill celebrates opening the scoring against Luton Town - Picture: MARTIN BIRCHALL (158)

TIM CAHILL’S excitement over Everton’s move to a new stadium was the key factor in him committing his future to the club.

The Australian has echoed fellow midfielder Mikel Arteta by revealing that his decision to sign a new five-year deal this summer was based on the move from Goodison Park.

While Cahill, 27, admitted it will be a “wrench” to leave Everton’s home of 115 years but that they have little option if they want to stay in the top bracket of English football.

“We are a club driven by ambition,” said Cahill. “And the move to leave Goodison Park and relocate to Kirkby was one of the main reasons I was keen to commit my long-term future to the club during the summer.

“Premier League football is changing and there is a danger that if clubs don’t keep up with the pace of change then you could fall way behind in the pecking order.

“So a new stadium will present many opportunities for us to consistently compete with the top teams in the league and in Europe.

“It will be a wrench to move on from Goodison but it is important for the future of the club that together we make the next bold step forward.”

Cahill finally returns to action for Everton tonight for the first time since breaking his foot at Sheffield United on March 3.

Manager David Moyes expects that he will feature in the friendly against Werder Bremen at Goodison Park tonight (8pm).

Cahill’s has made a full recovery form the injury but his joining up with the Everton players has been delayed by his involvement in the Asian Cup with Australia.

He has yet to play in any friendlies and stayed away from the American training camp last week to recover from his exploits in Singapore.

But Cahill, who didn’t start a game in the competition, feels his return to competitive football has been well managed in terms of his preparation for the new season. He said: “Everyone was very sensible. The Everton staff flew over to see me and it was well structured.

“The biggest thing for me was to come back fit for Everton and hopefully that's where we are at now.

“I am feeling really good and I am buzzing to be back and I am just looking forward to playing any sort of game.”

James Beattie is in the process of deciding whether to accept a move to Sheffield United with Everton ready to take £4million for him.

But replacing him in the forward line by bringing Alan Smith in from Manchester United, is a move that is set to be challenged by Newcastle, who have had a bid accepted for the England international and want to wrap the deal up in the next couple of days.