Everton FA Cup hero Rideout slams Martinez tactics

Everton FA Cup hero Paul Rideout has criticised Roberto Martinez’s lack of contingencies ahead of the club’s semi-final against Manchester United.

Rideout, who scored the winner in the club’s famous 1995 FA Cup final win over United, said while Martinez encouraged good football, he needed to learn the darker side of the game if he was going to push Everton up the table.

Runs to the last four of both domestic cup competitions this season have done little to quell the critics for Martinez, with Everton coming into Saturday’s game at Wembley without a win in seven Premier League outings.

“I think he knows he is in trouble,” Rideout told the BBC.

“I like the way he plays the game. I just think you have to have a little bit of the other side and I don’t think he has shown that.

“You have to realise that it isn’t working after several games and change it. As soon as Everton concede it is like ‘oh, it is going to be one of those games’.”

Martinez needs to beat United to boost his chances of surviving in his job after a terrible Premier League campaign that got even worse in a 4-0 drubbing against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.

The magic of the cup could yet save Martinez, however, as Rideout said winning the famous trophy could provide a lifetime of memories for players and fans alike.

“It was a great day,” said Rideout of the 1995 final. “I am still living off it after all these years.

“We were happy to avoid relegation and we were enjoying our day out, but we knew we had a chance and went there in a confident mood.

“After we scored we knew we would be in for a tough 60 minutes but we hung in there.”