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Roberto Martinez claims he does not deserve all the credit for the Everton FC evolution during his first season in charge.

The Toffees manager has been lauded for introducing a better brand of attacking football at Goodison last term, as he guided the club to fifth place in the Premier League and a record points total.

But Martinez insists the change was able to go smoothly due to his squad’s senior players, and the good habits and work ethic instilled in them by previous manager David Moyes.

He said: “I was always aware of that transition and how it had to be gradually imposed, bringing the players along. It’s been fascinating seeing how they adapted. But we haven’t lost anything which was put in place in the past.

“I was fortunate to arrive at a dressing room which has done a lot of good work in the past. It was important we didn’t lose that.

“But at any club when you’ve been used to one management team for a long time you get used to their habits and it’s difficult to change.

“They key to success has been the application. As a dressing room we have a strong group dynamic. Senior players set our standards and ways of working, and I was so impressed at how open minded and experimental our senior players were. That allowed the youngsters to come in and have big roles.

“We are Everton. We’re not just any one manager’s team. We’re the culmination of all the good work that’s been done in the past and I want to believe that next year we’ll be even better for it.”

Three draws to start the Catalan’s first campaign at the helm could have raised concerns outside of Finch Farm, but Martinez insists the attitude of his experienced players and appreciation of the supporters ensured things would click eventually.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “We had to work a lot on many aspects, but at the start of the season when we had three draws, it would have been easy for the fans to lose patience and not show any understanding of what we were trying to do, but it was the opposite.

“We feed from that support and understanding, allowing the players to have a bit of time to perform well and that was very much significant.

“As a whole, it’s been a contribution from everyone at the club, enabling us to find the right formula as a team.”

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