Frank Lampard has given an honest assessment of the debuts made by both Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli in Everton's defeat to Newcastle on Tuesday evening.
The Blues were beaten 3-1 by Eddie Howe's side at St James' Park with both deadline day signings coming off the bench at different points of the game.
Dele was introduced in place of Demarai Gray after the winger picked up a hip injury in the first half, while Van de Beek replaced Andre Gomes close to the hour mark.
Speaking about the latter, Lampard hinted that he was only left out of the starting line-up thanks to the strong performance of Everton's midfield pairing in the recent victory over Brentford.
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However, the boss admitted that both will need time to bed in - and still backs them to improve greatly in the coming weeks.
He told his post-match press conference: "I thought there were moments in the game where they both had good moments.
"Donny came on in a difficult time of the game, let's be honest, and made us tick a bit. He's only going to get better and I knew that with Donny.
"Him not starting tonight was more of a reflection of the performance on Saturday, but he will be integral for us through this season o get us to where we want to be in terms of performance and result.
"With Dele, again there were some nice bits, but we're asking a lot to expect him to hit the ground running.
"There are some moments, little penetrating runs where he nearly gets in and some of his link-up play, and hopefully his relationship with the rest of the team will take a bit of time.
"You see Newcastle brought new players into the squad, keep them on the bench and they bring them on late in the game because sometimes you need to keep a bit of continuity for everybody's sake.
"Dele and Donny will get better and better."
