Everton manager Roberto Martinez has pointed out that club's promising youngsters such as John Stones, Ross Barkley, Romelu Lukaku and Gerard Deulofeu need consistent support from the fans.

The Spaniard was talking about a particular incident involving Johns Stones in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The 21-year-old infuriated the Goodison Park crowd after he tried to hold on to the ball for far too long in his box while under pressure from Son Heung-Min but was defended by his manager who feels the Toffees young guns need to continually be backed by the club's fans.

"He's the best footballing centre half in Europe, so he's allowed to make his own decisions," said Martinez.

"As a player you need to do that. If you take an extra touch and lose it then it's a mistake. But don't lose it and it's not a mistake.

"What happened at the weekend; it was a sense of everyone wanting a good outcome and maybe there was anxiety.

"But we all need to understand we have very exciting young players who need support, and we need to be with them in that development process.

"We've got players who at 21, 22 like Stones, Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu, who, if you wanted to buy them with experience at 26, then you're talking about probably £250m expenditure. We need to be aware we have got top talent, but they still need support, trust and confidence in their decisions."