Roberto Martinez future: Everton board meeting on Friday set to seal manager's fate as defeat could see him sacked

Roberto Martinez is on the brink of being sacked at Everton, with the club’s board meeting in London on Friday to discuss the future of the manager after a disappointing season at Goodison Park.

The Spaniard has come under growing pressure from Everton fans due to poor results in the Premier League, with the Toffees currently languishing in the bottom half of the table and unable to qualify for European football this season.

Martinez also saw his side’s last remaining hope of silverware end last weekend when Everton lost to Manchester United at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals, and the defeat has cast major doubt over his future at the club beyond the end of the season.

Reports this week suggest that former manager David Moyes is eager to return to Goodison Park and rebuild his reputation in the Premier League, and The Telegraph reports that today could be the day that Martinez’s fate is sealed.

Despite initial expectations that the former Wigan Athletic manager would see out the season before being shown the door, it’s claimed that defeat this weekend against Bournemouth could see him sacked as early as next week, though it is almost certain that the 42-year-old will not be in charge at the start of next season and that today’s board meeting is to discuss when, not if, Martinez should be axed.

The decision comes months after the club was promised major investment from new majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, and the fear on Merseyside is that the poor season will lead to star names such as Romelu Lukaku, John Stones and Ross Barkley will pushing for moves this summer – Lukaku looking the most likely to leave after expressing his desire to play in the Champions League.

Fans have turned on Martinez in recent weeks with banners appearing among supporters calling for the Spaniard to leave, and there was a negative reaction to the news that left-back Leighton Baines was forced to apologise after he admitted publicly that the side lacked “chemistry”, despite it being obvious for all to see this season.

There is also a concern among Moshiri and club chairman Bill Kenwright that the players have lost faith in Martinez, with results suggesting the squad is not firing on all cylinders. Everton are currently on a run on seven Premier League matches without a victory, having taken just three points from 21 since the start of March, and they remain six points off the top 10 with just two points separating them from 16th-placed Crystal Palace in a reflection of how badly this season has gone.

Martinez accepted this week that it is right for his future to be in doubt, but he pleaded his bosses to look at his work at the club over the last three years as opposed to the last three months.

"I understand it completely. I never felt being Everton manager should be judged on being in an average position,” Martinez said in a press conference on Thursday.

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“I encourage huge expectations. As a club, we have to drive for silverware and top four, and when you aren't there the scrutiny needs to be there.

“That scrutiny needs to be there, but not a scrutiny of the last two or three months, but a scrutiny of the last three seasons. A scrutiny of taking a squad and developing a team to play the type of performance we had in the second half on Saturday.

“That scrutiny I welcome and accept and I would not want to be judged on having the ninth budget in the league. I want to be judged on the scrutiny of being the Everton manager and I expect to be challenging for silverware.”