Roberto Martinez hails Everton chairman Bill Kenwright amid takeover talk

That was the message from Toffees boss Roberto Martinez amid takeover talk at Goodison Park.

Everton have refused to comment on a report in The Times that American pair John Jay Moores and Charles Noell have signed a head of terms agreement and are studying the club's accounts ahead of a possible takeover that could be completed within six weeks

Kenwright has long been searching for new investment in an attempt to ensure Everton do not fall too far behind the financial heavyweights of the Barclays Premier League

Martinez said: "We all know what a fantastic chairman we have

Going forward we've got a really exciting team and I think the youth and the talent that we have in our dressing room reflects that spirit in the boardroom.

"Our chairman will always look for the best for Everton and clearly when it's something we have to share with our fans, the fans will be the first ones to know.

"But whatever's going to happen in our future is going to be good because we're in a great position and the football club is in the best possible hands."

Kenwright may not have the financial muscle of other Premier League chairmen but he has shown himself to be one of the most patient when it comes to managers

Only Manchester United and Arsenal have had fewer different managers over the last 20 years while Martinez, in his third season at Goodison Park, is already the fifth longest-serving boss in the division

Manchester United's Louis van Gaal is the latest to feel the heat and the Dutchman walked out of a press conference on Wednesday in a sign of anger at the intense speculation over his position

Martinez is saddened by the direction British football is heading in, saying: " We're going mad in trying to sell new projects all the time

"I think we need to accept that you're going to win, draw and lose and we should try to give managers time to put that vision across and find solutions otherwise we're becoming so volatile

"You get one or two defeats and all you're looking at is to sell a new project, and a new person is going to come in and is going to be given another two games, and then you're going to look to a new project

"I don't think the DNA of the British game is about changing and going from one manager to another

It's a real shame

We've changed immensely in the last 15 years

"If we expect to change manager every time you get a difficult period, you'll never find a successful team or the really successful stories that we had in the British game

It's really sad."

Steve McClaren had a rocky start to life in charge of Newcastle but the Magpies go into Boxing Day's clash with Everton having picked up seven points from their last three games

The Toffees, meanwhile, are without a win in four in the league and needing a reversal of fortunes to stay in the top-four picture

Conceding goals has been Everton's main Achilles heel, so captain Phil Jagielka's return from two months out with a knee injury cannot come soon enough

Martinez is confident the defender, along with midfielders James McCarthy and Steven Pienaar and wide man Bryan Oviedo, will feature at some point over the next three weeks

He said: "It's a really busy period for us but it's great news to have those four players in a position that they've already started to work with the group and we feel very confident that, in one way or another, they'll be involved in any of those seven games."

At the other end of the pitch, Everton have been performing very well, not least Romelu Lukaku, who can equal an Everton record set by Dixie Dean in 1927 if he scores in a ninth consecutive game against Newcastle

"You're talking about footballers that are Everton giants," said Martinez

"To have Romelu's name around those is an incredible achievement."

Source : PA

Source: PA