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Premier League: Everton manager Roberto Martinez denies holding one-off meeting

Roberto Martinez - Everton Europa League
Image: Roberto Martinez: Everton manager denies claims over meeting

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has dismissed suggestions a dressing-room delegation persuaded him to alter his style.

Striker Romelu Lukaku revealed the players had asked the Spaniard if they could be more direct on occasions after they had claimed a 1-1 draw with West Ham in the FA Cup third round on Tuesday.

However, Martinez said there were regular discussions with players about changing tactics and there was certainly no specific meeting.

"I am always talking with the players and we try to prepare from game to game," said Martinez.

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"We always share a lot of information but it has come out in a way that (suggested) it was a one-off meeting and we had never spoken before.

"It was a normal approach. We need to use players in specific ways from game to game so you can get a better performance and I thought against West Ham Rom (Lukaku) had a very effective game.

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"His pace and power was back to his very best and he became a real threat for us but there was nothing different preparing for that game to what we did previously.

"We are in a position where every player can have an impact and it is using certain players in a certain way from game to game and those little tweaks could be pure tactical adjustments.

"It could be a specific way of using your strengths in one way or another depending on the opposition we are facing and that is something we have been using a lot.

"We are a flexible team in that respect and it has always been a strength of ours and we will carry on doing it."

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