Martinez very impressed with Everton youngsters
John Stones and Gerard Deulofeu were drafted into the Everton starting eleven against West Ham United again on Saturday and they certainly impressed Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who was full of praise for his youngsters.
Martinez told evertontv: “I will never get surprised by seeing John enjoying his football and performing in the manner that he did.
“If you want to find the hardest test for a centre-half, it’s playing away at the Britannia Stadium. The next one is when you face West Ham.
“I thought he was terrific. His decisions, his distribution, the way he was commanding, his partnership with Sylvain Distin – it was all terrific.
“John will always play well beyond his years. We know he’s got a terrific future and we’re glad he can enjoy his football with us.”
Gerard Deluofeu made his first start after a long absence with a hamstring injury and Martinez repeated how important his on-loan winger is.
He said: “You need to remember it was difficult for Gerard because he got to a good level and then got injured. You could see he is ready again and he a really special footballer for us.
“He got up to 73 minutes and that is important to make sure he is fit and strong. I was happy with the way he had to suffer to prove his fitness and help the team.”
On the victory against West Ham, Martinez felt his team were worthy winners and coped with the aerial threat that the opposition offered.
Martinez added: “To restrict West Ham to only one shot on target tells you we were disciplined and organised but, on top of that, it’s about scoring that first goal.
“If we’d scored the goal a lot earlier I felt we could have gone and controlled the game and dominated a lot easier.
“You have to give huge credit to West Ham, they were very good in what they were doing. But I thought our performance made it difficult for them.
“It was an important moment to get a victory and it was well deserved for the players.”
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