Moyes waits on Saha to hit target

Everton manager David Moyes hopes the prospect of a new contract will spur striker Louis Saha into goalscoring form.

The French forward is out of contract at the end of the season and Moyes claims he is yet to make a decision on keeping the 33-year-old.

“I do expect Louis to do it in the second half of the season, if not for us, to prove himself to someone else,” Moyes told reporters.

“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.”

Moyes said Saha was capable of contributing more than just goals, however, and promised he would be rewarded if he upped his performances between now and the end of the season.

“At the turn of the year Louis had a good run, where he scored a few goals,” he said.

“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. If people perform, the chairman always rewards them here.”