Roberto Martinez hails complete Everton performance at Stoke

Everton boss Roberto Martinez hailed his side's "complete performance" following their 3-0 victory at Stoke.

Martinez's side raced into a three-goal lead before the break in Saturday's Premier League clash at the Britannia Stadium thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku, Seamus Coleman and Aaron Lennon as they moved above their opponents and back into the top half of the Premier League.

And Martinez was pleased with the way Everton coped with the lead after seeing his team lose advantages a number of times this season.

"It was complete performance," Martinez told Sky Sports. "You come to the Britannia Stadium and you know you will face a Stoke side that can compete in every aspect of their performance.

"They've got really good individual players. We defended really well but the way we created opportunities was very pleasing.

"There have been many times this season where we have started games well," he added. "We get good chances and score goals and then from that moment on, we haven't been able to take advantage of those leads.

"Against Stoke, it was very similar to what we did against Newcastle and in the FA Cup fourth round. We've been able to start these games well with a lot of concentration but once we had that lead, we were able to use it to our advantage and create even more clear-cut opportunities in the second half.

"The way we kept our concentration for the 90 minutes was very pleasing."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Lukaku scored his 20th goal of the season in the win at Stoke, becoming the first Everton player to score 20 or more goals in consecutive seasons since Graeme Sharp achieved the feat in the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.

Martinez was full of praise for the Belgium international, who was a doubt with a back injury before the game at the Britannia Stadium.

"I've seen it many times, "Martinez said. "He will do anything to make himself available and at times, he's not 100 per cent but he wants to be out there and be a focal point.

"He's not a player you are going to keep away easily."

Everton are now up to seventh in the Premier League after Saturday's victory and Martinez could not hide his delight at his side's performance.

He added: "I thought we had a really good mix and we were a really balanced side. We look like a really hungry team and with the quality we have that's very pleasing.

"It's a really important moment in our season and we needed to get a positive result against Newcastle.

"We knew today was a real opportunity to show our intent and I couldn't be happier with the manner of the performance."