Everton manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that he made the right decision to limit his moves in the transfer market last summer to keep his team from the 2013-14 campaign together.

The Toffees broke their transfer record to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal following his successful loan spell, while Gareth Barry also joined the club on a free transfer.

Despite keeping the majority of the same team from the last campaign, Everton have struggled to match their exploits in the Premier League as they currently sit in 13th place in the table, and also crashed out of the Europa League in the round of 16.

Martinez told reporters: "In the summer, we had a big decision to make – work for continuity. Having finished with Everton's highest points tally in the history of the Premier League it would have been very daft to look for a change.

"Continuity is what you are looking for. "It wasn't easy to get people like Gareth and Romelu on permanent deals, but we achieved that. We got players with an extra year's experience.

"But the reality is we got stuck with a couple of things that have stopped us replicating last season. Playing in Europe - and you can look at the stats of teams that have been involved in Europe for the first time - has a massive impact in the league."

Everton play Southampton in the Premier League at Goodison Park later today.