Martinez happy to share spoils

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was glad to leave Goodison Park with a point on Saturday, though he could not help thinking what might have been.

Marinez’s side were dominated for much of the encounter against fellow strugglers Everton, however a late chance to steal three points went begging when Ronnie Stam’s injury-time effort was instinctively saved by Tim Howard.

“I’m extremely proud to come away from the game with a point,” Martinez told SkySports.

“Because when you come to Goodison Park at this stage of the season you need a complete performance to get something out of the game.”

“Coming here is a difficult place but we were well worth the point – if not the three points.”

A win would have seen Wigan escape the clutches of the relegation zone, but they remain 18th in the league standings.

Nevertheless, Martinez saw the strong-willed performance against Everton as an important stepping stone towards getting their season back on track.

“You need to show great concentration and great togetherness.”

“I felt we did that – we defended as a team and showed good composure.”

“You feel the strong manner in which we finished the game, especially away from home, gives us a fantastic platform to keep on improving and getting better.”

Everton manager David Moyes was less buoyant afterwards, expressing frustration at his side’s inability to convert a host of chances throughout the match.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the game,” he said. “We had a few chances but today we didn’t have the quality to finish them.”

“It’s been the story of our season – we have been finding it really difficult to score goals.”

“I think we’re creating plenty – today we created four or five good opportunities – so I was just hoping someone could stick one into the back of the net.”

“Unfortunately today that didn’t happen.”

Everton remain at the wrong end of the Premier League table following the stalemate, just two points clear of the relegation zone in 15th.