Everton fly the flag for British football in the Europa League, yet it was legitimate to ask Roberto Martínez whether he should wave a white one against Dynamo Kyiv. His answer was unequivocal; there will be no backing down against Ukraine’s unbeaten league leaders at Goodison Park. Europe remains Everton’s sanctuary.

It demonstrates the conflicting nature of Everton’s season that what should be cause for a grand Goodison occasion on Thursday has created a quandary for many attending. Newcastle United visit on Sunday in a game with major implications both for Everton’s Premier League survival prospects and the growing pressure on their manager. For Martínez, however, there is no priority or prospect of resting players against Sergei Rebrov’s team in readiness for a relegation fight.

Five wins from eight Europa League games underlines Everton’s commitment to the competition (especially in comparison to six wins from 31 domestic fixtures) and the Champions League ticket that awaits this season’s winners in Warsaw will not be snubbed now.

“You cannot underestimate the amount of work and effort that has gone into this competition at the club over the last 18 months,” said Martínez. “One competition shouldn’t get in the way of the other. When we built the squad at the start of the season it was with playing in Europe in mind. That hasn’t changed. We have a strong enough squad to face the two competitions.

“We know the severity of the situation we have in the league, we are not hiding from it, but this is a chance to focus on a good result. We have to start winning straight away. In the final third of the season every point is vital.

“The position we are in is not good enough, I’m not hiding from it, but that is Sunday. Tomorrow is a chance to get in the final eight of the Europa League. That’s not easy. We are the only English team left and there must be a reason for that. You don’t get this opportunity often.”

Everton have taken only eight points from a possible 24 after Europa League fixtures this season but their overall return has been so poor that resting players against Dynamo would bring no guarantees. The contrast between their domestic and European form is vast, with Wolfsburg, Lille and Young Boys of Bern (who boasted a 100% home record in the competition before Everton’s 4-1 win in Switzerland) all beaten handsomely by a team that have been consistently ineffective in the Premier League.

“Part of it is the unknown and the teams coming up against us in Europe don’t know as much about us,” suggests Steven Naismith. “And there has been a lot of freedom in the games too. We have players who can hurt teams when they give possession away and we have capitalised on that in a lot of the European games, that has made a difference.”

The Scotland international believes Everton possess the quality to win this competition outright but admits players will be fighting for their Goodison futures without a rapid improvement in the Premier League. “If you are not performing then you are not going to be here very long,” adds Naismith.

“This club is ambitious and wants to go forward and I’m sure the manager will look for a replacement to do the job he wants done if you’re not doing it.

“But I’d say the biggest motivation is personal pride. You don’t want to be in a team that is struggling to perform every week. We are aware of the situation, the manager has made us aware of it and the older players in the squad have touched on it. Some players might think ‘It’s Everton, we won’t go down’ but we know it doesn’t work like that. We know we have to go out and perform. That is the goal from now until the end of the season.”

Dynamo are unbeaten in 16 league games and have not dropped a domestic point since November, although they have never won in 11 encounters in England. Their leading goalscorer in the Europa League this season, Andriy Yarmolenko, faced missing both legs against Everton due to a three-match suspension received for a straight red card against Guingamp in the previous round, only for the ban to be reduced to one game on appeal.

That was served in the 3-1 win over the French club that was marred by crowd trouble in Ukraine, resulting in a partial closure of the Olympic Stadium for next week’s return. Everton know they must travel with a decent advantage.

Probable teams

Everton (4-2-3-1) Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Garbutt; McCarthy, Barry; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku Subs from Atsu, Gibson, Besic, Distin, Browning, Kone, Alcaraz, Griffiths, Robles, Osman, Ledson, Duffus

Doubtful Stones (virus), Osman (knee) Injured Baines (knee), McGeady (knee), Oviedo (hamstring), Hibbert (knee), Pienaar (knee) Ineligible Lennon Suspended None

Dynamo Kyiv (4-3-3) Shovkovskiy; Vida, Dragovic, Silva, Antunes; Buyalskiy, Sydorchuk, Kravets; Yarmolenko, Mbokani, Gusev Subs from Veloso, Rybka, Teodorczyk, Kalitvintsev, Chumak, Selin, Burda, Betao, Khacheridi, Kalitvintsev.

Injured Haruna, Makarenko, Selin, Lens Suspended Belhanda, Rybalka