Everton boss David Moyes admits he regrets selling James McFadden during the January transfer window.

The Toffees have seen their charge to finish in fourth spot falter in recent weeks as they struggle with injuries.

Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Leon Osman all missed Saturday's 1-1 draw with Birmingham, while Yakubu has been forced to play as a lone striker in recent weeks.

Moyes concedes injuries have hit his squad hard and he wishes he kept hold of McFadden rather than selling him in January.

"You can have as many players as you like but you always need your best players in the team and we are missing too many of them at the moment," said Moyes.

"If we had known, we probably wouldn't have let James McFadden go in January. He is a good player. He was a good player at Everton. He will do well for Birmingham.

"It's four points from the last two games but I think it's obvious we are not firing on all cylinders and are missing players who are important to us.

"We're struggling a bit for our form but we've just got to keep moving on and picking up points. It's the injuries, not the long campaign, which are taking their toll.

"It's more to do with the three to four people we are missing.

"We're very limited in what we have available in forward areas and in midfield we are nearly drained of resources."

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