Eto'o cannot wait to get started at Everton

Samuel Eto'o says he is joining a 'family' at Everton and cannot wait to make his debut at Goodison Park.

The former Cameroon captain signed a two-year contract with the club on Tuesday and was officially introduced at a media conference on Wednesday.

He revealed he had spent a long time talking to manager Roberto Martinez about the Spaniard's plans for the club, who take on his old side Chelsea on Saturday.

Clearly impressed, the 33-year-old, who has three Champions League medals, says he is ready to get involved with the first-team straight away despite a lack of match fitness.

He said:

"I have already met Tim Howard,Sylvain Distin, the captain Phil Jagielka and some of the other players.

"It is exactly as Roberto Martinez said to me; the Club is run like a family and I want to establish myself as an integral part of that family as soon as possible.

"Everybody wants to play every match but it doesn’t depend only on me and my will to play," he explained.

"In this game it is not wise to reveal your hand too early on and, even if I knew, I would not say this early on if was going to play this weekend.

"This is a great club and has a great history. I think we can go far together and grow the club that little bit more.

"When I came where to play against Everton it was with another club and I was in an different mindset. Now I am an Everton player I am really looking forward to experiencing my first game at Goodison."

Martinez believes Eto'o's experience will be invaluable for the younger members of the squad and insists the can make an impact despite his advancing years:

"I’m very much excited because he is a perfect fit for what we have in the dressing room. If there is anything you can use from Samuel Eto’o, it’s his appreciation of space and knowing how to move in the 18-yard box, create space and be a real threat in the final third. That’s something we can use straight away.

"From Champions League finals, to being a reference in his national team where he won Olympic Gold, to playing in World Cups – everything in football, he has been through.

"He wants to still learn and push himself and for the players around him, he is going to be a really good example. He feels ready to do that – he is at an age and moment of his career where he is ready to pass messages on.

"But he is still as hungry as ever to reach good individual targets and do whatever he can for the team.

"I know for a fact that our football club is the perfect environment to show what he showed last season, where he scored nine goals in the Premier League when he had never played in the league before. That is quite impressive."