Roberto Martinez: Motherwell shaped me as manager

Martinez discovered something about his character when he came through his spell at Fir Park. Picture: SNS

The Everton manager has signed the likes of James McCarthy, Shaun Maloney, James McArthur and Aiden McGeady during his spells at Wigan and Goodison Park and he is tracking more players from the Scottish Premiership.

The former Motherwell midfielder is believed to remain interested in 20-year-old Dundee United left-back Andrew Robertson, who made an  impressive first start for Scotland during the 2-2 friendly draw with World Cup-bound Nigeria at Craven Cottage last Wednesday.

Martinez said: “I have been following a lot of youngsters who are showing real potential and I think Scottish football can take advantage of using a lot of young players for the league.

“As a profile in terms of their work-rate, understanding of the game, their focus and desire, I love the Scottish player as a character in any dressing room in the Premier League.”

Martinez discovered something about his own character when he came through his tough spell at Fir Park during the 2001-02 season.

The Spaniard found himself struggling to get a regular start after the man who signed him, Billy Davies, was sacked early in the campaign, and he was then made redundant when the club went into administration towards the end of the season.

The 40-year-old said: “Motherwell was a very good experience because it wasn’t a good experience. It became something different.

“As a manager it has helped me  immensely. Being able to understand a dressing room undergoing administration was at the time very hurtful but  it has made me the manager that I am now.

“As a whole I really enjoyed Scottish football. It wasn’t a success from a  personal point of view at the time but it has become one of the biggest footballing lessons in my development as a manager.”