Martinez rallies Everton for FA Cup semi final
"We carry hurt and that's normal after what happened in the last game, but clearly the focus is about the opportunity of being in the semi-final of the FA Cup"
Roberto Martinez insists Everton will put their league troubles behind them and pull together to try to reach the FA Cup final.
The Blues face Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday on the back of a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Merseyside derby in midweek.
That made it seven games without a victory in the Premier League and piled more pressure on manager Martinez, whose position is under intense scrutiny. To make matters worse, the Spaniard is facing a defensive crisis, with Seamus Coleman ruled out, Phil Jagielka almost certain not to play and Ramiro Funes Mori suspended following his red card at Anfield. John Stones faces a fitness test after coming off against Liverpool with stomach cramps but Martinez is optimistic he will be fit.
Martinez said: "We carry hurt and that's normal after what happened in the last game, but clearly the focus is about the opportunity of being in the semi-final of the FA Cup"
"Since the quarter-final against Chelsea, results haven't been good enough, and that's something we'll try to look into next week when we face the next league game"
"We've got four league games left and we'll try to give everything we've got. But at the moment everything is about the semi-final and everything is about taking our football club to Wembley with a really strong feeling of being together, of facing adversity in an exemplary way and being as good as we can in front of a very strong opposition.''