Roberto Martinez claimed he wasn’t relieved after watching Everton come from behind twice to draw 2-2 at home to Watford but admitted his side lacked the Hornets’ intensity in the opening period.

Quique Sanchez Flores’ men were the better side for much of the opening period after Miguel Layun had fired the visitors in front, with Everton struggling against their disciplined and hard-working opponents.

The hosts improved after the break and without ever dominating, it was no great surprise when they equalised through a fine finish from Ross Barkley.

However, a superb solo goal from Odion Ighalo once again put the home side in the driving seat to open up their Premier League campaign with a win, only for Watford’s lead to be quickly wiped out by Arouna Kone.

The Toffees boss, who later admitted “Watford were very, very well organised”, said he wasn’t relieved by the outcome but explained: “I thought we saw two very different performances. I thought the first-half performance we weren’t at the level and the speed and the tempo and the intensity that Watford had.

“Without knowing too much about how these players gel together, what we knew is that we were facing a newly-promoted Watford side which means that you bring enthusiasm, you bring bravery, you bring an incredible intensity that we had to match and clearly I think you saw in the first half you saw a team that had a pre-season mode and another one that had had a competitive mode. And from that point on you cannot compete in this league. They have one shot on target, it ends up in the back of the net and you have an incredible mountain to climb.”

Martinez continued: “The second half was completely different. I think the attitude changed completely. We got in that competitive mode. There was clearly the reaction of wanting to do something about it, then I think the game changes a lot with the introduction of Arouna Kone and a couple of tactical switches. Everything became a lot clearer in front of us on the ball, we became a little bit freer with what we did in front of goal and you can never underestimate coming back twice in the game from behind, that’s something that pleases me.”