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Pienaar eager for Championship move

Cape Town - Former Bafana Bafana international Steven Pienaar is becoming frustrated by his lack of first team opportunities at Everton and is looking for a loan move.

The 34-year-old has made 228 appearances over eight years during two stints Everton, however the former Ajax Amsterdam midfielder has been forced to watch the majority of the campaign from the sidelines due to a thigh injury.

Pienaar only managed to make three substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, against Manchester City, Chelsea and Swansea City in January and has failed to make his way back into the squad since then.

"I'm 100% fit and felt in good form when I played some games in January," Pienaar told KickOff. "I haven't been in the squad for the last six weeks, I don't know why, and obviously this is a concern for me. But that is the coach's decision and I must respect that.

The Cape Town born midfielder is still waiting to hear from the club's management with regards to his future at Goodison Park and says his representatives have tried to get a hold of the club to open negotiations, but are yet to receive a response.

"Waiting until the end of the season to hear whether or not Everton wish to extend my contract is unreasonable, I feel. It's not the way I envisaged ending my career at a club that has been such a major part of my life," he added.

"My representatives have tried a number of times, unsuccessfully, to get hold of the club to talk about my future and get some indication, so I remain in the dark. Obviously I need to keep my options open because I would still like to keep playing for another couple of seasons at least.

"I am really just looking for game-time at this stage of my career so in my current situation I wouldn't mind dropping down to the Championship to help a club there until the end of the season. That would be a great challenge.

"I still feel like I have got a lot to offer and at this stage of my career, what's most important for me is playing games." he concluded.

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