Martinez will stay - Whelan

Martinez will stay - Whelan

Published May. 12, 2013 9:15 a.m. ET

Fulham boss Martin Jol has refused to rule himself out of the running to replace David Moyes at Everton.

Everton are beginning their search for a new manager with David Moyes leaving Goodison Park to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Jol has one year remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage and reports have suggested he is considering his future if he does get backing in the transfer market this summer.

Asked if he would be interested in taking over at Everton, Jol said: "I wouldn't be embarrassed to be linked with them. Everton are a good club.

ADVERTISEMENT

"If you look when I was at Hamburg and Ajax they had their best win percentages (more than 60 per cent).

"But I am here at Fulham, have one year left, I'm happy and my family is happy here."

Martinez has been heavily linked with the managerial vacancy at Everton, with David Moyes leaving Goodison Park for Manchester United at the end of this campaign to succeed the retiring Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Roberto will make his own mind up. Roberto consistently says 'I love Wigan, I will stay with Wigan'," Whelan said.

"When the time comes he will leave for a big club, I have no doubt about that. But I think he might just stay with Wigan."

Wigan beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup yesterday with an injury-time header from Ben Watson.

The club now face a fight for Barclays Premier League survival, with games against Arsenal and Aston Villa to come over the next week.

While Whelan celebrated until the early hours, Martinez and the players had to keep their champagne on ice.

"We outplayed Manchester City across the whole of the game yesterday. Our boys totally deserved it," Whelan said.

"We had three of our mainline players injured and up to eight players off this season. That is why we have struggled. We would have been in the top half of the league without a problem.

"You saw the quality of Wigan on Saturday, you saw the quality of Roberto Martinez and what he puts into the team.

"We have two massive games. Last night they went home and knew they had to go straight to bed. We have a big game on Tuesday and a massive game on Sunday.

"The boys are dedicated to the massive task of keeping Wigan in the Premier League. The big fight is to stay up."

share