Roberto Martinez has hit back at Andy Gray following his recent comments about Everton.
The former Everton striker has recently voiced his concerns about his old side, fearing that Martinez has sacrificed the Blues' defensive solidity in favour of the attacking, free flowing football that the manager prefers.
The Catalan has now rejected those claims though, citing Arsenal as another side who are labelled in a similar manner. "Arsenal get accused of this as well just because we are teams that want to be on the ball, want to control the game and want to have a technical approach in our performance," he said.
"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to defend. Of course you should be able to defend. In the modern game you need to defend with 11 players. That's just an easy way out of trying to explain why we are conceding too many goals. We're not too soft."
However, deespite his sides' current slump, Martinez is refusing to give up on Everton's desire to finish in the top four. "We have an overall aim which is trying to get into the top four and that is not going to change.
"Can we achieve it this season? Once we get into the next international break there will be eight games left and then you see exactly where you are."
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