Roberto Martinez is not prepared to give his players

Everton boss Roberto Martinez is not prepared to give his players an easy way into the first-team. After a spell on the sidelines due to injuries, defender Leighton Baines has returned back to contention for a starting spot.

The England international would normally be expected to walk straight back into the starting line-up. However, this has not been the case since Baines has been put on the dugout as he waits for his turn. Bryan Oviedo was his replacement and the 25-year-old has been able to grasp this opportunity with both hands.

Martinez would not have expected the Costa Rican to have played so well in the last few weeks. He has been a regular pick for Everton since the turn of the year. Now, the Spaniard says that Baines will have to wait for his turn. It remains to be seen if the 31-year-old will take to this position lightly. He has made just 11 appearances this season and this lack of gametime could hurt his chances of going to the Euro 2016. Even though there are not much competitors for the left back spot in the England team, Baines would not want to leave anything to chance.

Baines’ last 90 minutes on the pitch came in the 3-1 loss against Manchester City."Leighton had a really tough period with being out with an injury for such a long spell for the first time in his career.He came back, got the rhythm slowly and he got in a very good amount of games in a short period of time but he had a knock against Carlisle and probably needed a bit of a breather.Leighton is a very experienced and important footballer for us and we will all get the benefit of having him fully fit and ready to go to fight for his place,” said Martinez.