Roberto martinez praise for Gus Poyet

Roberto Martinez insists his side face a difficult test when they face Sunderland on Sunday

Gus Poyet’s men have had a difficult start to their campaign, culminating in an 8-0 defeat to Southampton, but Martinez has seen enough since that clash with the Saints to know Everton will have to be at their best at the Stadium of Light, with the qualities of his former Real Zaragoza team-mate Poyet shining through in adversity.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Blues boss said: “The biggest threat to us on Sunday will be the level that Sunderland can show. As we saw on Monday, they got a very important win and are now in a completely different position to the one they were in two weeks ago.

“I know that this Sunderland team has an incredible character. Losing 8-0 is one thing but it’s the reaction after that. They had a very positive performance in their very next game against Arsenal then they won at Crystal Palace. You have seen a Sunderland team that could match anyone.

“The way they finished last season, unless you have something special in the dressing room you don’t achieve what they achieved.

“A lot of that is down to Gustavo. They are different tactically; they can play in different ways. We know they will try and play form the back, they want the ball and they can hit you on the counter attack. They can also build the play up if they need to.

“For me they are not going to end up in the position in the table they are in now. I know on Sunday that we will face a team that has a bit of everything and are ready to get a positive result.”

Having played in the Europa League on Thursday, Martinez will need to balance his squad carefully to make sure the Blues can maintain the intensity that helped them defeat Lille against the Black Cats.

But the Spaniard is unconcerned with the threat of tiredness within his ranks. “We have got enough within the squad,” added Martinez. “We are going to make changes and the line-up that we’ll have at Sunderland will have plenty of energy.

“We have been working long enough this season to understand the demands of the Europa League, the travelling and when you are playing at home, and the demands of playing any team in the Barclays Premier League.

“So the squad now is ready to be used to cope with the demands ahead of us. We will be fresh. I think there are some positions where it is actually an advantage to play three games in a week and others where you have to share the demands and keep it fresh. We have the right mixture.”