Roberto Martinez: Let’s make 2016 a trophy season for my Toffees
ROBERTO Martinez is fed up staring into a trophy cabinet where old cups have gathered dust.
By
Steve Millar / Published 2nd January 2016
That is why the
Everton boss is ringing in the new year more optimistic than ever about ending the Goodison honours’ drought.
Martinez feels that his new generation of Everton stars have the unquestioned ability to dramatically improve the proud history of this famous club in the next key five months.
The late great Howard Kendall was the last Everton manager to lift the title in 1987 while Joe Royle’s team beat Man United 1-0 to win the FA Cup in 1995.
But big season-changer games are coming up thick and fast starting with Tottenham today.
Then Everton face Manchester City in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Goodison on Wednesday followed by Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie against Dagenham and Redbridge.
Martinez is rubbing his hands at the prospect of those fixtures being the springboard for a great run to glory.
He said: “There are no two ways about it, we need to become better as a team and individually but in the same way we all know the potential we have as a team.
“We will never look away from the opportunity we have with this team to be something special in the history of Everton and as manager I take responsibility.
“We have to be a winning team.
“I know that we haven’t won a trophy for a long, long time but it’s in our DNA we should be winning titles. And we should be achieving to win games, not just to compete in games or hope for a win.
“We have got the most important month of the season.
“It’s a pivotal month for us in order for us to face the League Cup, the FA Cup and very important games in the league.
“The next five months will be vital for Everton. “I’m looking forward to them and I think we have the players with the character to cope with that.
“The players with the talent to play our type of football.
“We are not there yet otherwise we would be top of the league but that’s the way we are going in the next five months.”
Martinez doesn’t need to be reminded what’s at stake from now until the end of the season for an Everton side full of exciting talent, particularly in the shape of Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones. He knows all eyes will be on him in the way he steers the Goodison ship packed with so much hope and so many dreams.
Martinez is now two-and-a-half years into the job – and feels he will get the time to bring back success.
Martinez added: “I am not happy to go through the motions.
“I want to be producing teams which become better, that can play attractive football and that can take responsibility.
“And we want to score goals but at the end of it, we want to be winning things and I don’t expect anything different.
“At Everton, we want to be under that sort of scrutiny.
“We know, though, where we are. We are probably the most exciting team that you would enjoy to watch from a neutral point of view going forward.
“Our attacking play is really exceptional.
“The stats tell you that we are the team with the most goals scored from open play which is something which is very, very difficult to achieve.
“All I want is the best for Everton.
“And whatever happens I will always make decisions like I am going to be the manager for the next 100 years.
“That’s the only way you can manage a football club with the history that we have.”
