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Everton boss Roberto Martinez is not the “Mr Nice Guy” many people think he is, according to midfielder James McCarthy, reports Steve Bates in the Sunday People.

The genial Spaniard, so often seen with a smile on his face, has a temper to match the best.

McCarthy has revealed that Martinez showed his fiery side in a post-derby showdown meeting with his Everton stars after they had been thumped 4-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.

According to McCarthy the Goodison boss let rip at his players in the dressing room, leaving them in no doubt they had let the club and themselves down.

McCarthy said: “People looking in from outside probably don’t see it but now and again the boss will lose it with us if he’s not happy.

“After the game he said his piece and made us all aware how upset he was. He didn’t hold back. But we knew how much we had let the club down.

“You want to do well against your arch-rivals. It’s never nice to lose to them. We knew that getting beaten in the manner we did wasn’t good enough.

“We wanted to show it was just a blip and get back to form as soon as possible. We wanted to put it right and thankfully we made amends in the next game against Aston Villa.

“Apart from the Liverpool game we have been going well. We need to move forward and after beating Villa we can look forward to playing at Tottenham.”

(Image: Laurence Griffiths)

Ironically, McCarthy could have been lining up for Spurs against Everton at White Hart Lane today.

Former Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas was a big admirer of the Republic of Ireland midfielder and Spurs were linked with a move for him last summer as Wigan’s relegation made his departure from the DW Stadium inevitable.

But once McCarthy knew Martinez wanted him, Goodison Park was his only destination.

He said: “The gaffer rang my agent and said he wanted to get a deal done. Once I heard that, there was no going back.

“I only wanted to go to Everton and I was delighted to get here in the last 10 minutes of the window.

“The last few months at Wigan were a funny time. We won the FA Cup against Manchester City on the Saturday and got relegated on the Tuesday. We went from a high to a low.

“I started in the Championship and played five or six games, but Everton are a brilliant club. I made the right decision.“