Martinez wary of troubled Blues

Published Sep. 16, 2011 3:16 p.m. ET

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Everton's season has so far been overshadowed by off-field problems with their lack of funds highlighted by the recent sales of Mikel Arteta, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford. Some frustrated fans staged a protest outside Goodison Park last week but that did not affect the players, who produced a spirited performance in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. Martinez expects much the same from Moyes' side as he takes his Latics team to Merseyside in the Premier League on Saturday. The Spaniard said: "If you look at the game against Aston Villa, they did not look like a team that has been affected by what is going on around them. "I think Everton are a real example of how to be competitive on the pitch whatever happens off it. "Anything that happens at board level, with certain players or fans, can have an affect on the football pitch. "Players are human beings and you get affected psychologically by the events that are going on around you. "But if I could highlight an example of how not to be affected by that on the pitch, it is Everton. "We are going to have to be at our best, otherwise you are going to be hurt. "At Goodison Park Everton really test you, put you against the wall and make you defend well. "It is not just their football ability, you need to overcome the mentality they have got." Wigan made a positive start to the season with two draws and a win in their opening three games. Their run came to an abrupt halt, however, at Manchester City last weekend and Latics, after making seven changes, were then dumped out of the Carling Cup by Championship side Crystal Palace. Martinez has taken positives from the loss at Palace, most notably that some fringe players saw action while Shaun Maloney, David Jones and Patrick van Aanholt made debuts. He is more concerned that his team learn the lessons from their 3-0 reverse at the Etihad Stadium, when he felt they may have paid too much respect to the opposition. He said: "You need to play the team that is ahead of you and you cannot be affected by the perceptions towards that football club, the team or the occasion. "When you go into any venue you want to be yourself and play as well as you can, you want to be yourself. "If that is good enough to win the game, great. If not, at least it will help you to grow. "I feel we can perform a lot better when we go to these glamorous venues around the Barclays Premier League. That is the lesson we need to take. "We know we are better and after that experience we will take many things on board. "Now we have got three games before the next international break, playing three teams with real strong tradition - Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa. "The first game is the one we are really focused on and we are desperate to get back to that solid mentality we showed in the first three games of the season."