Denis Hungry For More

Striker says first-team run has given him confidence to score.

Denis Stracqualursi says a regular run in Everton's starting line-up has given him the confidence to score goals.

The Argentine, who joined the Blues on loan from homeland side Tigres in August, turned out 12 times for the Toffees before registering his first goal in last month's 2-1 victory over Fulham.

With January arrival Nikica Jelavic injured and Louis Saha no longer on the books, the 24-year-old has not only retained his place in David Moyes' side but demonstrated clear signs of the attacking prowess which last season saw him hit 22 goals in 38 Argentine Primera División outings.

Saturday's close-range effort in Everton's 2-0 FA Cup win over Blackpool was his third strike in five games - and the 24-year-old believes fans are finally seeing a truer reflection of his talents.

"When I first got here, it was difficult to adapt to the different style of football," he said. "But now I'm getting games and getting time, I'm scoring goals and that's the main thing for a forward.

"I'm very happy with the goal. It's very important for forwards to score goals for confidence.  The main thing, though, is that we won. It's a team effort."

Stracqualursi’s contribution helped fire Everton into the last eight of the FA Cup, a stage they last reached during a run to the final in 2009.

And the striker added: "We are confident and we are happy that we got to the next round. There's a lot of confidence in the team and we need to keep it up and take it into the next games."