Everton hero Martyn praises character shown in Birmingham draw

Everton hero Nigel Martyn says there were good signs to come from their 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.

Despite the two points dropped, ex-goalkeeper Martyn was impressed by the show of character from Everton.

He told evertonfc.com: "Birmingham City have enjoyed an excellent season - based very much on the blueprint Everton adopted a few seasons ago. They are organised, work incredibly hard and are very, very difficult to break down.

"And when they pinch a goal they are more than capable of defending it and grinding out a narrow victory.

"Everton established that blueprint for teams wanting to break away from the lower reaches of the Premier League table. But Everton have moved on now. No-one's won at St Andrew's since mid-October - and that includes teams of the quality of Chelsea and Manchester United.

"There's certainly nothing to be disappointed about in coming away from Birmingham with a point. But the fact that Everton's players and their fans were frustrated shows just how far the club has come. Expectation levels are now at a point where fans expect Everton to go to tough places like Birmingham City and win."