Martinez believes his side's defensive woes are behind them

Everton FC boss Roberto Martinez believes his side's defensive woes are behind them

Blues have kept four clean sheets in their last five games with just one goal conceded



He insists nothing in football surprises him.

But that’s not to suggest Roberto Martinez wasn’t perturbed by Everton FC’s faltering defence at the start of the season.

The amount of times the Blues back four was breached was a pattern which had to end if they retained any hopes of building on last term’s fifth-placed finish.

Four clean sheets from their last five games, and just one goal conceded in that period implies Everton’s traditional defensive steel is back.

And for Martinez those statistics are music to his ears.

“It wasn’t a shock as such because honestly nothing shocks me in football,” says the Catalan reflecting on that calamitous early spell. “We stopped our intensity a bit, probably because we came back from the World Cup and all of our work was to try and get back to the level we had before. And luck plays a part in it.

“Back on the opening day the first goal we conceded against Leicester was from a corner. It comes in and we get a clearance and then it hits someone and ends up in the path of the striker. The second goal was exactly the same. We got a good block but it ends up in the back of the net.

“You feel like nothing is going your way.

“Against Arsenal we had a phenomenal performance – 2-0 up with 10 minutes to go...All of a sudden we became mentally frail defensively.

“Sometimes you can’t put it down to just footballing reasons. It’s part of the game. But now we’ve got the confidence back and the intensity from the whole team which goes back to the back four and the keeper and it becomes a lot easier.”

Martinez is particularly heartened by how his defence has fared recently despite not having the luxury of a settled centre back pairing.

“I think we’re back to normal,” he says. “The partnerships at centre half have worked. When we had John Stones and Phil Jagielka it was really powerful, then Antolin and Jags was as powerful and now with Sylvain and Jags back together we are powerful again.

“Only conceding one goal in five games is quite impressive considering we’ve had a few away games too. It’s an aspect of our play which I’m glad to see back. It was very rare not to have it at the start of the season.

“It cost us points which we know we shouldn’t have dropped. Now we have a good challenge to get the points back as quickly as we can because we know the competition is long enough.”

Sylvain Distin came in from the cold against Lille on Thursday with Antolin Alcaraz out injured, and provided a solid display.

Despite the Frenchman’s age, Martinez believes he is ready to be thrust back into the thick of it after being rested last month.

“It’s the perfect time for him to play as many games as he can now,” he says. “He’s had a period to refresh and all the work he did in preseason has stood him in good stead.

“He can do it. As a centre half sometimes you can’t play too many games. You don’t have to cover as many kilometres as players in other areas.”

Everton’s revived defensive efforts owe much to their influential midfield axis of James McCarthy and Gareth Barry.

McCarthy in particular was dominant in the Europa League this week, and the man who brought him with him from Wigan in summer 2013 is rarely short of praise.

“I’m biased obviously but I value him as one of the best midfielders in European football,” says Martinez.

“The balance needs to be right in the team, and we have James and Gareth in a partnerships which is difficult to break because of their understanding. James has learned a lot from Gareth, and Gareth enjoys playing with James. That shows. They give us balance and they are reliable characters which are very important.

“Since day one James brought something special here.”

Barry and Seamus Coleman will undergo fitness tests ahead of tomorrow’s game at the Stadium of Light.

Barry has an ankle problem which he suffered against Lille, while Coleman was absent from the squad for that match after suffering a cut to his Achilles tendon in last Saturday’s 0-0 league draw with Swansea.

Source: Echo