David Moyes is weighing up his midfield options ahead of the weekend trip to Fulham.

The Blues boss has an increased choice of players with the signing of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and the return of Phil Neville from defensive duties.

Neville had been deputising in the centre of defence but was back in the middle of the park of the win over Wigan.

Moyes left Marouane Fellaini on the bench for that game, with the Belgian making a significant impact when he entered the fray in the second half.

He also has Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell and Leon Osman who can all operate in central areas, while Mikel Arteta is approaching the end of his long spell on the sidelines.

“There will be times when I use Tim in some games and Fellaini in others and not both together,” said Moyes. “But, as well as that, I know I can play them together if I have to.

“Once I get a squad, that will happen. At the moment, I don’t have a squad to make those decisions.

“I thought Felli had his best game (of the season) against Olomouc. His second season will be tough. I thought the first six months of this season would be the hardest for him.

“I thought this might be the hardest period and he might find it tough to reach those heights again. He has been a bit down but the good thing is that he knows about it, he is aware of it.

“That gives me great hope. When players don’t recognise that they are not playing as well as they should be, that’s when you have problems but Felli recognises he can play much better.”

Improved numbers in Moyes' squad gives the manager confidence that he will have the ability to alter things by introducing impact players as substitutes if required.

“We haven’t always had the options on the bench to change things around," he explained. "Certainly not this season. When we get Mikel and Yak back in the coming months, I can see us having a much stronger squad.”