We're no one-hit wonders insists Blues boss Martinez
Everton manager Roberto Martinez before his tream's game against SC Paderborn's Moritz Stoppelkamp at the Benteler Arena in Germany
The challenge is as simple as it is fraught with difficulty.
Prove last season wasn’t a one off.
To do that Everton FC must somehow build on a fifth place finish in Roberto Martinez’s debut campaign, while also juggling the exacting demands of the Europa League and progress in both domestic cup competitions.
But as far as the ambitious Catalan is concerned, it may be a tough challenge but Everton are good enough to rise to it.
Speaking ahead of the big kick off against Leicester City at the Kingpower stadium today, the Toffees boss was in defiant mood - boosted by is belief the club and its fans are in synch when it comes to their aspirations.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez during training at the Benteler Arena in GermanyEverton manager Roberto Martinez during training at the Benteler Arena in Germany
“We all know the level we can reach and therefore expectations are high,” he says. “The opposition will prepare even more for us now but we want those standards.
“We don’t set ourselves targets in terms of points, or league finishing it’s more getting the continuity we had from last season while accepting and embracing the Europa League demands.
“I don’t want to say that we don’t look forward to the Europa League because that’s not true. We’ve been working hard over the last 12 months to get there.
“I know how much the fans are looking forward to it and we need to make them proud, but as we’re doing that we cannot drop our levels in the Premier League.
“That’s the challenge - can we maintain the same level in every single game we go into during the season? The demands will be bigger than last season and the expectations as well.
“Everyone is close together and united in their thoughts at the club. The fans don’t have stupid expectations; we all want as much as we can but we’re realistic. We know there will be tough periods but we’ll get through them as a football club together.
“It’s the best learning curve to get to where we want to get and fulfil our potential. I don’t fear the expectations because there is a realism too.”
Martinez knows that the Blues’ fortunes this term will be partly influenced by factors out of his control – such as the injury picked up in training yesterday by Ross Barkley.
“It will go down to small details; such as how favourable the draw will be in the Europa League, where you play the away games and who you have after them in the Premier League,” he says.
Everton v Southampton at Goodison Park in Barclays Premier League Match. Lukaku celebrates after putting Everton back in front 2-1
“It’s those details and we’re already working towards them to make sure we’re prepared. The players are desperate to fight for their places and it’s as narrow as that in some ways - you don’t want any layer looking further than working to get his starting place.
“The simpler the better. But we’re proud to be in Europe and we will have the same demands as ever.”
So even though the challenges are numerous, Martinez is typically full of enthusiasm ahead of today’s contest in the Midlands.
“You still get that excitement no matter how long you’ve been in the game because every season is different and you get different challenges,” he says.
“There are different puzzles to solve and goals to strive for. This time we’re going into Europe, we have an outstanding group of young players here with an added year of experience under their belts who are desperate to being success here.
“We understand the difficulties we’ll face but we’re ready to face that adversity. It gives you a real strength.”
The Blues boss realises that taking the sting out of the opponents’ initial euphoria, on their return to the top flight, will be key to a positive result this afternoon.
“Sometimes you get teams promoted on top of a very good year but they’ve had two good seasons and have been consistently wining games comfortably,” he says. “You can tell from pre-season they’re carrying that feel good factor from promotion. We’ll have to match that. It’ll be an incredible atmosphere but we’ll have to be on top.”
Martinez has been encouraged by the progress of Romelu Lukaku, who scored twice in a behind closed doors friendly against Leicester City on Monday, and will give him and Kevin Mirallas every chance to prove their fitness ahead of today.
While it is more likely both will be on the bench, he is nonetheless glad to have them in contention.
“They are closer than I thought they would be,” he says. “I didn’t expect them to be ready for Saturday at all but the way they’ve been working and the desire they’ve shown makes it hard to count them out. It’s hard to say how they’ll be involved but I have an open mind after I watched them in the last two sessions.”
Although results may have been disappointing in the Blues summer friendlies, Martinez has been thrilled with how things have progressed.
“I’m delighted with the squad we have,” he says. “The board and the chairman have been instrumental in providing the continuity we have. The work we’ve done in retaining key players and bringing in hungry young players like Mo Besic and Christian Atsu has been great.
“We won’t stand still and say we’re happy with what we’ve got full stop because that’s not our way of working but I am delighted how we’ve done in pre-season.”
Source: Echo
