Martinez: Our defenders know they have to perform when on the pitch
Roberto Martinez has come out in praise of his centre-backs and says they know they have to perform when in the team as the competition for places is very strong at the moment.
Martinez can welcome back defensive stalwarts Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin for the game against West Bromwich Albion tonight, but believes that Antolin Alcaraz (Who is out with muscle fatigure) and young John Stones can push the for a starting place.
he said: “What we all know is that we’ll have a lot of games and demands. It’s not a case of the quantity of the playing time, it’s about the quality. Whenever you are on the pitch you can’t take that for granted.
“You need to enjoy representing Everton and do the best you can. If it’s 90 minutes or five minutes it shouldn’t change the approach. Jon understands that in the same way that Jags and Sylvain do.
“John has been getting a lot of good advice from the other two centre-halves, in the same way Antolin has. We’ve got four good centre-halves and whoever is on the pitch needs to be at their best.”
Who would be your centre back pairing? Have your say at www.theevertonforum.com