Roberto Martínez believes Louis van Gaal is under pressure to win silverware at Manchester United irrespective of the club’s largesse in the transfer market.
Martínez guided Everton to their first win at Old Trafford in 21 years last season while a 2-0 win over United at Goodison Park in April proved to be David Moyes’s final game in charge. United’s response was to appoint Van Gaal and spend almost £160m on new players this summer, £213m in total since 2013, only for the Dutchman to oversee the club’s worst start to a Premier League campaign.
“There will be pressure at Manchester United if they spend more money or do not spend money,” said the Everton manager. “They are a global brand expected to win titles. If they do not spend money or spend £200m it makes no difference because they will always be expected to be the best they can be, challenging for titles and being among the most successful clubs in Europe. It is different if you haven’t won anything for 15 years and then spend a lot of money, but United have that pressure anyway.”
Everton’s game at Old Trafford on Sunday kicks off 65 hours after their Europa League tie finished in Krasnodar, the 1-1 draw followed by a 2,000-mile, five-hour flight that arrived back on Merseyside early on Friday. Martínez admits the noon kick-off scheduled for broadcasting purposes “is a bit of a disappointment” but cannot be used as an excuse by his players.
“Every hour you get to recover is a bonus but I don’t see it as a reason to moan,” he said. “We want to be involved in Europe and to have the mentality that we are ready for every game we face. A big club needs to have that mentality and we accept the challenge to be able to cope with that.”
Martínez also revealed his club are to reward the 370 Evertonians who travelled to southern Russia from Britain with a free ticket for the next Europa League away fixture at Lille on 23 October. The gesture would cost Everton almost £6,000 should the full Krasnodar contingent take up the offer.
He said: “It is not an act of generosity but a way of saying a big thank you to those who came to Russia. It was a long way to travel around Europe, we found it really tough with a five-hour flight, but we heard some of the stories of how fans had taken several flights and trips around the Black Sea to get there. Some of them were worthy of Hollywood scripts. One fan took two flights and a train before arriving at the wrong hotel.”
