Everton boss Roberto Martinez facing 'biggest calls of career,' says Phil Thompson
Wednesday 20 April 2016 15:31, UK
Everton manager Roberto Martinez faces a "massive dilemma" in his selection for the Merseyside derby, according to Liverpool legend Phil Thompson.
The Toffees face the first of a crunch double-header when they visit Anfield on Wednesday night - live on Sky Sports 1 HD - before travelling down to Wembley to take on Manchester United in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final.
Martinez's side sit in mid-table ahead of their short trip to face Jurgen Klopp's in-form team, but Thommo believes the Spaniard will be wary of a further backlash in the event of a defeat - and faces a critical period in his Goodison Park tenure.
"These two games are going to be the biggest calls of his Everton career," the Soccer Saturday pundit said.
"If he was to lose both then that would be huge, huge pressure and it's a massive dilemma because there's no forgiveness when you lose a derby.
"It's a difficult one for Everton because Martinez is under extreme pressure from the fans and there's local pride at stake."
"He might think that the FA Cup semi-final is now the most important game but this a derby game and I know a lot of Evertonians that would say there's still a lot at stake."
The Everton boss rejected suggestions he could rest stars in preparation for Wembley when he gave his pre-derby press conference and Thommo believes boosting confidence is more important for Martinez than granting players additional rest.
"I would play the strongest team to get a result. Even a draw would be huge boost, not just for local pride but to give them confidence going into the United game," he added.
"There are only half a dozen games left so I don't see why he really needs to rest players, especially given the amount of changes he made at the weekend."
In contrast, Thommo believes Jurgen Klopp is able to continue to rotate ahead of their Europa League semi-final next Thursday, after seeing his side win 2-1 at Bournemouth on Sunday despite making 10 changes.
"It doesn't help Everton's chances that Klopp can afford to play his strongest side again and then rest them all at the weekend," Thommo said.
"He's also seen the players coming in can do a job from the performance at Bournemouth, so he's got plenty of options."
