Everton manager Roberto Martinez has stated that his side were victims of their own success last season.

Everton were widely expected to challenge for a Champions League spot following their fine fifth-place finish in 2013/14.

Unfortunately though, the Toffees endured a torrid campaign and eventually finished in a lowly 11th place in the Premier League table - 25 points adrift of what they had managed last season.

Martinez was certainly left disappointed by his side's performances throughout the course of the campaign and has explained the reason why the Toffees struggled was due to the players being unable to cope with the increased weight of expectations on their shoulders.

"We finished the previous season really strong and created huge expectations and that is something different, mentally, that you have to cope with," he said.

"Especially with the way we want to play, we have to open teams up and individually you go through a learning curve but we have all become stronger, especially the younger players who have never had that important role in the side, and the first six months of this season will prove one of the most influential in their careers.

"In that respect, you can see the change in the players now. They are playing with more maturity due to the fact that the experiences we had to go through earlier in the campaign."