Walter Smith believes the best is yet to come from midfielder Alex Nyarko and he is hoping that he will be able to put his full talents on show before the end of the season.
The Ghanaian international is now fit again after a niggling knee injury, which required surgery, and he will be involved in the Blues\' squad on Saturday afternoon for only the second time this year as they contemplate a tricky tie at Ipswich.
The Goodison Chief watched the Accra born star make his competitive comeback for the reserves last week at Middlesbrough and he remains confident that there is a lot more to come from the African midfielder.
Walter told the website as he continued preparing for the trip to East Anglia: \"I don\'t think that we have seen the best of Alex yet.
\"In the early part of the season he settled in reasonably well but found the differences that Thomas Gravesen has already stated in playing in England to playing in France or Germany.
\"He was disrupted over the December/January period with a knee injury which required surgery but he is now back fit again and hopefully we can see the best of him between now and the end of the season.\"
\"Thomas has benefited from playing the majority of the season and I think if Alex hadn\'t had the injury, he too would have benefited.\"
The constant speculation which has surrounded his English playing career obviously hasn\'t helped him settle into life in the Premiership, but that distraction looks to have passed.
Just last week he was linked with a move to Lyon but the 27-year-old has scotched any such rumours by insisting that any decision on his future, if any, won\'t be made until the season ends in May.
And with eleven games left before the Premiership draws it\'s curtains for another summer, that leaves ample time for him to rediscover the form that delighted the Blues Boss in the early stages.
\"He had a good spell of form at the beginning of the season for us,\" admitted Walter, \"but like all new players coming into the country it did take a little bit of time for him to settle down.
\"He found it difficult to sustain a level of form but the knee injury didn\'t help.\"
Added Walter: \"I think if he can add something to us between now and the end of the season that would be something that we would obviously want.\"
