Following Everton's 2-1 defeat to La Liga side Villarreal in the Toffees' final pre-season match and Duncan Ferguson's testimonial, Roberto Martinez paid tribute to the Everton legend, discussed transfer targets and the start of the new season.
Duncan Ferguson an "incredible example"
Sunday's Villarreal match was a testimonial for Everton legend Duncan Ferguson, to celebrate his 14 years of service to the club as both a player and coach. Ferguson came on as a substitute in the final ten minutes of the match to rapturous applause from the Goodison faithful and Martinez paid tribute to Everton's former number nine and described him as an "incredible example" for Everton's players.
Ferguson, who scored 72 goals in 273 appearances for the club, has not trained at all apart from couple of days prior to Sunday's match but Martinez said that he "looked fitter than ever". Martinez added that Ferguson was a "special presence to have on the pitch" and he has given the players and coaching staff "great guidance going into the season."
The former Blues striker was on the pitch when Tyias Browning scored a header in the latter stages of the match and Martinez said that it was "a proper Evertonian celebration".
However, Browning's goal was not enough for Everton and Ferguson to get revenge for the Champions League qualifier defeat a decade ago. Martinez said that he "knew we were going to win in the period that he [Ferguson] was on the pitch. He gave us his presence and the sheer feeling that something was going to happen."
Martinez added that "the reason we are involved in football is to create memories and to the share them with our fans. Today we created a special Everton moment."
Martinez looking to bring in new players
Everton have already signed Tom Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu during this transfer window but Martinez is still looking to bring in two or three players as he looks to utilise the "full window" in order to bring the "right people" to Goodison Park.
The Everton boss said that he has a "clear idea" where he wants to strengthen and he is looking to bring in a forward, a number 10 and a centre-back before the window shuts at 18:00 (BST) on Tuesday, 1 September.
When asked about his search for a player to fit the number 10 position, Martinez said that players in this position "aren't easy to find" as he looks to bring in a player that has "great vision and technical ability" but who can also cope with the "physicality" of the Premier League.
Everton are ready for Premier League start
Martinez believes his side are ready for the start of the Premier League season next weekend after what he described as a "very good" pre-season. Martinez is also "very clear" how Everton are going to play in next Saturday's opening game at home to Premier League new boys Watford and the Villarreal match was "important to see a couple of partnerships."
The former Wigan Athletic manager said this weekend "stretched the squad to the maximum" and he has been "impressed" with some of the academy players that have been given the opportunity to play with the senior players during the close-season.
Expect to see some of the younger players, such as Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway, in and around the first team this season as Martinez believes the younger players are "ready to help the first team."
Injuries
Everton have struggled with injuries during pre-season with Steven Pienaar, Gerard Deulofeu, Muhamed Besic and Aiden McGeady all missing Sunday's match with injury.
It looked like the problems were going to get even worse when both Kevin Mirallas and John Stones picked up ankle knocks against Villarreal. However, Martinez confirmed that they will be assessed in the next 48 hours by the club's medical staff but he doesn't expect them to be "anything too serious".
Martinez also said that he expected Everton's top-scorer last season Romelu Lukaku to be fit for Saturday's match, after the striker appeared to injure his hamstring in last week's friendly with Dundee United.