Pienaar glad with Everton return

Steven Pienaar: Midfielder glad to return to Everton

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar insists that the managerial change at Tottenham Hotspur did not have any bearing on his decision to return to Goodison Park.

The South African joined the Toffees from Spurs for £4.5million earlier this week following a six-month loan spell last season.

This will be Pienaar's second permanent stint at Everton following his three-and-a-half year spell on Merseyside before his move to Spurs in 2011.

The 30-year-old is glad to have returned to Everton and stresses that his mind was made up even before Harry Redknapp was replaced by Andre Villas-Boas.

"At the end of the season I was sad to say goodbye," said Pienaar. "I spoke to the manager just before I left and that's when I made up my mind I wanted to come back to the club.

"I made it very clear to the manager here that if the opportunity came I really wanted to come back and he promised me he'd do whatever it took to make it happen. I'm glad he showed so much belief in me to bring me back.

No change of mind

"I followed my heart and told myself I'd made up my mind already before I went back to training.

"We sat down, we talked and he (Villas-Boas) asked me how I felt.

"I told him: 'It was just clear before you came that I wanted to move, so nothing will change my mind - I will just be professional and work hard if nothing comes up'. So he understood my situation."

Everton will begin their Premier League campaign with a home game against Manchester United on Monday 20th August.