Martinez: Winning trophies is in Everton's DNA

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Martinez: Winning trophies is in Everton's DNA

Everton manager Roberto Martinez believes his side have it in their DNA to win trophies as the Toffees moved one step closer to qualifying for the Europa League knockout stages.

Goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Steven Naismith sealed a routine 3-0 win for Martinez's side over Lille, leaving them top of Group H and five points clear of the Ligue 1 outfit in third place.
A win in either of their final two matches against Wolfsburg and Krasnodar would seal their passage to the round of 32, and Martinez feels his side have what it takes to challenge the best sides in the competition.

"We are in a football club that are expected to win things," he told reporters. "It’s been a long time since we won a trophy but the relationship between Everton and European competitions goes back to the 1950s.

"It's in our DNA and we have to galvanise it and get it now.
"It's only November, and if you start talking about what you can get in competitions then you can look a bit foolish, but every game we go into we want to win it.

"The squad is large enough and has enough quality to cope with many games. We want to be in the Europa League for as long as we can but we all understand there are top teams in this competition."

Lille coach Rene Girard agreed with Martinez's sentiment after his side put in a disappointing showing on Merseyside.
Girard's team have won just one of their last 11 outings in all competitions, and he admitted his side are not at the level to challenge the Premier League outfit.

"There’s not a lot you can say. We were up against a much stronger rival and we couldn’t match them," he admitted.
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"It was a heavy defeat and I never like to take a heavy beating. We came up against a good side in form and proved we have a lot of work to do to come to Everton’s standard.
"They can give a good account of themselves in European competition this season and can go quite far."