David Moyes has urged Evertonians to get behind their enigmatic Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov as the Blues look to build a winning streak against Stoke at the weekend.
The Scot praised 'Bily' for his performance in Everton's last outing, an away win at Bolton where he provided the vital assist for Marouane Fellaini to break the deadlock at the Reebok.
Known for his inspired moments as well as his insipid ones, the £10m man who arrived with a big reputation from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2009 is yet to nail down a permanent starting place in the Toffees' best eleven.
But Moyes said he is confident that the 26-year-old Soviet can be an important asset to his side as they head into the Christmas fixture pile-up.
Conceding Bilyaletdinov's billing as a confidence player, he urged the Blue faithful to get behind their man on Saturday when the visit of Stoke will be another stern test of his Premier League credentials.
Moyes said: "I thought Bily played well in a couple of games earlier in the season, I think one was Aston Villa and another was Chelsea, he didn't play well against Manchester United.
"But the games he has played I think he's done quite well.
"He had a good game against Bolton and he needs people to get behind him and give him confidence, no more so than the manager.
"The one thing he does is work really hard for the team, he wants to do well.
"And over the last few seasons, he has tended to get us five or six goals, albeit they tend to be crackers, but even against Bolton he had couple of half chances.
"You tend to find in every game that Bily, somewhere along the line, will get a chance to score.
"It's not the only thing (he could improve), but it'd be a good thing if he could chip in with a couple of goals."
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