Martinez ‘an example for Spanish managers’ – Flores

Mark Holmes
Quique Sanchez Flores: Says Roberto Martinez is an example to Spanish managers

Quique Sanchez Flores: Says Roberto Martinez is an example to Spanish managers

Quique Sanchez Flores has hailed Roberto Martinez as a “very good example for the Spanish managers” ahead of Everton’s trip to Watford.

After an impressive start on their return to the Premier League, Watford have won just two of their 12 league matches since the turn of the year.

On Saturday, they host an Everton side who have accumulated just one more point in a season where Martinez has come under increasing pressure for his team’s stop-start league form.

But Flores believes Saturday’s fixture at Vicarage Road should centre around how Watford can respond from four successive league defeats, in which they have scored just one goal, instead of their opponent’s own concerns.

“The next match against Everton is not about Everton,” said Flores. “I respect Everton a lot – they have amazing players and an amazing coach – but the next match is about Watford. It is about what happens with us and how we are going to react.”

Flores, who has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s encounter, enjoyed his first taste of the Premier League against Everton in their 2-2 draw on the opening day of the season.

And the Spaniard, a former manager at Getafe, Atletico Madrid and Valencia, has lauded Martinez ahead of their second meeting.

“I love Roberto,” Flores added. “The first conversation I had with him was after the match against Everton – the first match in the league – it was an amazing conversation.

“He gave advice to me about the Premier League, the conduct of the English players, the foreign players and how it is like to manage in the Premier League.

“He is a very good man and a very good example for the Spanish managers. We look at Roberto like an English citizen because he thinks more like an English man than a Spanish man but he doesn’t forget that he is Spanish also.”

While Everton are one match away from the final of the FA Cup following a 2-0 victory against Chelsea, Martinez’s tenure in charge of the Toffees faces continued uncertainty following their indifferent league form.

Indeed some of the Goodison Park faithful believe the club will be better served with a new approach.

“I don’t hear anything during the season about other coaches,” Flores said. “But you know how he is working with the pressure. They have expectations but it is normal to get pressure.

“It is the responsibility he has, but the fans are often wrong.

“He’s always a very interesting man and a manager. I love him. Everything he told me before was right. He wanted to tell me something and I appreciated his advice.”