Allback: I'm Not Scared Of Competition

Marcus Allback has welcomed Dion Dublinˇ¦s return to scoring ways, insisting: ˇ§The more competition for places, the better.ˇ¨

But the Swedish international ace is hoping his fast-developing partnership with Darius Vassell is given another chance to shine at Everton tomorrow.

Dublin announced his return from a three-match ban in spectacular style on Monday ˇV coming off the bench to secure a deserved share of the spoils at Newcastle.

And Allback told www.avfc.co.uk: ˇ§The big man is back, but thatˇ¦s good. We need the competition. Dion is such a good player and weˇ¦ll see what happens on Saturday.

ˇ§We did very well at Newcastle. The first-half was not good, but in the second-half we came back and did well. I think we deserved a point and not too many teams will grab a point at St Jamesˇ¦ Park.ˇ¨ T

urning to his partnership with England international Vassell, Allback added: ˇ§We talk all the time, because we havenˇ¦t played a lot together. You need to talk a lot at the beginning of a partnership, so you understand each other.

ˇ§It has been going well and we are starting to understand each otherˇ¦s runs and movement. That sort of thing takes time.

ˇ§Iˇ¦ve started the last three and hopefully Iˇ¦ll play a big part over the last three games. Thatˇ¦s going to help me when I sit down at the end of the season and decide what to do.

ˇ§Patience has been an important word for me and Iˇ¦ve tried to keep that up. But it has been difficult and frustrating from time-to-time. Now itˇ¦s paying-off.ˇ¨