Now in charge of Belgium, the former Wigan Athletic manager only has good things to say about his time at Everton.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez
Former Everton boss Roberto Martinez has lifted the lid on his time at the Toffees, and refuses to let the criticism sent his way in his final few months in charge get in the way of what he believes was a very successful spell in management, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The 43-year-old was appointed as Everton boss after winning the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic, but following fan protests, Martinez was sacked just before the end of his third season in charge – and was eventually replaced by Ronald Koeman, who is still in charge today.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez
Under Martinez’s reign, Everton finished fifth and then 11th twice, while the Spanish manager won 61 of his 143 games in charge of the club, and took them into Europe via the Europa League from that fifth placed finish.
Speaking about his time at Goodison Park, Martinez accepted that it’s part and parcel of management to face criticism like he did towards the end of his tenure, and looks at the bigger picture of his time in Merseyside given the circumstances he faced, while admitting things just weren’t good enough in his final year.
Roberto Martinez Ross Barkley
“As managers, it’s part of the job,” Martinez said when asked about the protests, as reported by the Daily Mail. “I keep the memories and my achievements stand. I look at Everton as the full three seasons, not the last six months.
“We got 72 points in the first season, we were the last English team to be knocked out of Europe in my second and made two semi-finals in the domestic cups in my third. We were defensively very poor in my last season. There were a lot of defensive duties we didn’t execute properly. I don’t deny we conceded too many goals.
“But when I arrived at Everton we had the same budget as Aston Villa and Fulham – they both went down. I’m proud of Tom Davies and his breakthrough this season. We gave him his debut. As a manager, you know you won’t personally feel the most benefit when taking chances on young players, but we have a responsibility.”
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez
Martinez is now in charge of the Belgium national side and is on course to lead the nation to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, with Belgium undefeated in their six matches played so far – winning five – which has given them a four point lead at the top of their group.
As for Everton, they finished seventh in Koeman’s first season in charge, and will go into the Europa League as teams above them in Manchester United and Arsenal won the League Cup and the FA Cup respectively, meaning seventh placed in the league goes into Europe as both clubs had already qualified for European football.
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