Beware the return of fired-up Beattie.

Byline: NIGEL MARTYN 

A FAMILIAR face will return to Goodison Park this weekend with the aim, no doubt, of proving a point.

James Beattie will lead Stoke City's line on Saturday and he has been in excellent form since joining the Potters in January and he looks to have rediscovered his confidence.

I know from playing alongside Beats that he is a naturally confident lad but, for some reason, his spell with Everton never turned out as he, David Moyes or supporters hoped it would.

When we signed him back in January 2005, I was convinced we were getting the right player at the right time and there was a buzz about the training ground on his arrival, as he looked to have the platform to take his game up another level.

He first came to my attention when he played for Southampton against Leeds and totally dominated David Weatherall, who was in top form then, with little fuss.

Unfortunately, things never worked out here - that happens sometimes - and it was a case of him having to take a step back into the Championship with Sheffield United before tackling the Premier League once more.

There is little doubt that our central defenders will be in for a busy time of it, as aside from Beats making a nusiance of himself, there will be an aerial bombardment, as Stoke look to maintain their place in the division.

They will have been everyone's favourites to be relegated at the start of the campaign as the bottom team but Stoke have given themselves a real good chance of staying up, even if it hasn't always been pretty to watch.

However, we are still desperate for points and hopefully our extra class will tell.