Roberto Martinez expects Gareth Barry to Break Record

Roberto Martinez says that he expects midfielder Gareth Barry to break the record of most number of starts in the Premier League.

The 34-year-old is only three games away from equalling the record set by goalkeeper David James. The former Portsmouth goalkeeper made 571 starts in his long career. However, Barry will have to go an extra length in order to match the figure set by Ryan Giggs. In his two decade long career with Manchester United, Giggs made a remarkable 610 starts in the league. He also remained as the only player to have scored in more than 20 campaigns of the Premier League.

Barry made most of his appearances with Aston Villa before he joined Manchester City several years ago. After winning key titles like the Premier League with City, he joined Everton initially on a loan deal. The move was made permanent a year later as he was available on a free transfer. Barry still has two years left on his contract. This would give him plenty of time to break Giggs’ record, although it will largely depend on his ability to stay injury free during this period. He has just missed one league match in this campaign. However, he will be unavailable for the next two because of suspension.

"Gareth has been probably the most consistent character we have had in our dressing room over the past three seasons.He is going to break the record for number of starts in the Premier League and that is not an easy stat to achieve, and it goes down to his character," said Martinez. Recently, the Everton manager claimed that Barry is the unsung hero of the Everton team, as he covers so much distance in order to stop the opposition from playing their game. Barry recently received two yellow cards in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Chelsea.