Roberto Martinez gives staunch defence of his Everton reign
Roberto Martinez is under pressure at EvertonCREDIT: PA
10 MARCH 2016 • 10:32PM
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has robustly defended his reign
amid growing unrest with his side’s underperformance this season, insisting he remains the right man to lead the club into a new era.
Martinez can give the campaign a different complexion by securing a Wembley trip with victory over Chelsea in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final.
The game will be notable as the first attended by investor Farhad Moshiri since his 49.9 per cent purchase of the Merseyside club.
Farhad Moshiri will be at Goodison Park on Saturday
There is no suggestion the future of Martinez is on the agenda for the new benefactor, but cup success would go some way to appeasing those who recognise how the manager has built a talented team, but are concerned at the current failure to deliver on its promise.
Martinez feels he deserves more support than criticism.
“It takes a brave journalist to defend the manager after losing in the last 12 minutes (to West Ham) and to say ‘look at the record of building a football club when he’s had to cope,'" said Martinez.
Everton's home record this season has been poor
“It’s one of toughest jobs, winning games, creating something and it’s been smooth – in the first season we got 72 points; in the second we went into Europe, we have been into the semi-final of the League Cup; we’ve been consistently coping with the expectations of doing something good in the cups – that’s difficult.
“If I was a new manager in the Premier Leagu maybe I would be worried. I have been very fortunate because I have been ten years managing and seven of them have been consistently in the Premier League so I can speak from a good position of what pressure is. Whatever you’re fighting for – winning the FA Cup, fighting relegation, trying to get into the top four - I have that experience.
“You’re looking at a squad, the players we have and the signs we have shown this season and this is not a group that has hit the roof, or reached a level of being are quite happy to be seventh and hoping for a good season. We’re trying to be forward thinking and on the front foot, a team that can score and compete against anyone and we have seen signs.
“At home we have not been able to win enough, that’s the truth and we have to face it. But it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a process. We manage funds very well, we have sold very well, and invested very well. We have not had a £300m investment. We just manage our assets very well and end up with a squad I feel has the potential to get somewhere special.
“Have we got experience within squad? Clearly not, we have young talent that needs trauma and pain but I am excited about the future when I look at the players I work with on a daily basis at Everton.”
Asked if Martinez may have put together a squad that someone else will get more from him, he responded: “Fine. I will be the proudest man on earth. I gave Joe Allen the perfect programme to develop as a youngster and he became a £15m player. As a manager you have to do that, for the good of the club, not for the good of the manager. I wouldn’t be involved in football if didn’t have that mentality. I’m not a short-term manager. I don’t want to get a football club mortgaged or in that situation just to win over the next six months. I enjoy building a club and making decisions. Maybe I am not going to see the benefit but that’s how a manager should think.”
