Roberto Martinez says he and his players sympathize with Everton fans’ frustrations over underachieving this season and hope this will spur them further for the rest of the season – and beyond.
Last Saturday, Everton blew another lead in a 3-2 home loss at the hands of West Ham, who relied on a 90th-minute winner from Dimitri Payet.
Everton squandered chances as Romelu Lukaku saw a poor penalty saved by West Ham’s Adrian, as The Toffees hit seven home losses this term.
The Blues could be set for another season short of success as they currently sit 12th place in the Premier League. Following the semi-final exit in the Capital One Cup, Saturday’s quarter-final tie against Chelsea in the FA Cup is the only chance Martinez has of silverware this season.
Despite this and the entrance of the new Iran-born majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, Martinez isn’t worried and told the Daily Mail.:
We’ve seen outstanding signs this season and that is why it is so frustrating to see in games where we are winning, we throw it away.
That is why it is so important for us to look forward to this quarter-final and the rest of the season.
I just feel this is where we really need to take all the pain and experiences we had this campaign in a good way and get the rewards our performances have deserved.”
Although some fans may think so, Martinez doesn’t believe this game to be ‘make or break’.
I don’t see it as a make-or-break (game). I see it as the type of game we want to be involved in.
We have the advantage of playing it at Goodison, and we could achieve something really special.
After what we had to go through this week, it is the type of game we want to use to our advantage.
Do you see Saturday as the final straw for Martinez? Let us know on Twitter at @ReadEverton.
