COMEBACK king Eunan O’Kane cannot wait to prove a point to former club Everton – six years after his Goodison Park departure.

The 24-year-old joined the Toffees youth ranks in 2007 but was released two years later due to his diminutive size.

However, next season, the Derry-born midfielder could finally strut his stuff alongside Everton in the Premier League having earned promotion to the top flight with Cherries.

And Liverpool fan O’Kane, who arrived at Cherries in 2012 following spells at Coleraine and Torquay, feels his potential involvement indicates his career turnaround.

He told the Daily Echo: “It wasn’t too long ago that I was told I was too small to play in the Premier League. I’m not too big at the moment but, at the time, I wasn’t as big as I am now.

“Maybe Everton were right at that point but it’s nice having been told that to virtually give them two fingers.”

Reflecting on the upcoming campaign, O’Kane added: “I think if I had to pick one game that I wanted to play in and no more, I would say Liverpool at Anfield.

“But all the grounds will be amazing. When we went to Aston Villa in the FA Cup, the ground, the atmosphere, the pitch and everything about the place was incredible.

“It’s a long way from some of the grounds I’ve been to in League Two over the years and that will be a nice change.”

After commanding a regular starting place in the Cherries line-up at the start of the 2014-15 season, O’Kane was pushed down the pecking order following Andrew Surman’s arrival ahead of the closure of the summer transfer window.

Following the turn of the year, O’Kane was on the end of an X-rated challenge by Watford’s Daniel Pudil, which sidelined him for six weeks. And that was to prove the former Torquay man’s final Championship game of the campaign.

O’Kane added: “Of course, I want to be playing and involved and although promotion is great from everyone’s point of view, it was slightly frustrating that I didn’t play as much as I wanted to.

“The lads did so well and performed to such high levels for long periods of time. “Watching the Charlton match on the final day of the season, you had to appreciate just how good we were, which was part of the reason why it was a frustrating year for me.

“My injury hampered me but, in the summer, hopefully, I’ll have a good pre-season and force my way into the team.”