Fan protests of no concern to Martinez

Everton manager Roberto Martinez refused to comment on supporter protests against his leadership after Leighton Baines’ second-half goal sealed a 2-1 home win against AFC Bournemouth.

Baines secured Everton’s fifth home victory of the season after Marc Pugh cancelled out Tom Cleverley’s neatly taken opener, but the game was overshadowed by protests over the team’s perceived stagnation under Martinez.

Shortly before half-time, a plane flew over Goodison Park trailing a banner reading ‘Time to go Roberto’, while some Everton fans stayed behind after full-time to display banners calling for Martinez to be sacked.

But the under-fire Spaniard shrugged off the protests, preferring to focus on the fact his side broke their run of seven Premier League games without a win.

“In football you have to concentrate on affecting the game and just winning,” Martinez said. 

“The winning feeling allows you to move on. That’s what we can take from today.

“Those aspects [the protests] are not for me. My concentration is preparing the players and preparing for the game.

“The win was very important – it has been an emotional time. We had to win. We had to dig deep, we showed we were a team and that we have character.”