LAY OFF OUR YOUNG ONES Martinez pleas for patience

ROBERTO MARTINEZ has urged Everton fans to lay off the club’s young stars.

The Toffees host Manchester City tonight in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final. But Martinez’s side have won just four home games this season.

The fans made their frustration clear against Spurs on Sunday, with 21-year-old John Stones in the firing line after trying ‘Cruyff ’ turns in his area.

Martinez has urged them to be patient with Stones and other young stars such as Gerard Deulofeu, Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku.

The Everton boss said: “I think what happened at the weekend, it was a sense of everyone wanting so much a good outcome that maybe there was anxiety.

“But we all need to understand we have very exciting young players who need support, and we need to be with them in that development process.

“We’ve got players at 21, 22, like Stones, Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu, who if you wanted to buy them with experience at 26, then you’re talking about probably £250m expenditure.

“So we need to be aware we have got top, top talent, but they still need support and that trust and confidence in their decisions.

“We don’t want to give them extra pressure. We need them to be clear how they can become footballers.”

There is also a frustration at the club’s 21year wait for a trophy. Former Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry said: “We know what the atmosphere is going to be like.

“You will feel that tension in the air. This club are waiting to make the step to Wembley. The players are aware of that. I am.”

Barry played a pivotal role as City ended their 35-year wait for silverware in 2011, when they won the FA Cup, and helped them win their first league title in more than 40 years, 12 months later.

“I managed to do it at City, being part of a group that ended a long wait for a trophy, and to do it here would be fantastic,” added the Toffees star.

Martinez believes qualifying for the Champions League would go a lot further to help keep the young stars at the club.

He said: “I don’t think winning a cup will keep the young players. I think qualifying for the Champions League could help to keep young players.”

Everton will listen to loan bids for Darron Gibson and Aiden McGeady.

However, Steven Naismith is believed to be having second thoughts about leaving Merseyside after Norwich made a £8.5m bid for the Scotland striker last week.