Roberto Martinez plays down Everton's Champions League hopes

Roberto Martinez has taken the pressure off his Everton side by claiming that it is too early in the season to talk about qualifying for the Champions League.

The Toffees head into 2014 inside the top four of the Premier League thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Southampton at Goodison Park on Sunday that continues their impressive run this term.

"You will always hear me saying it is impossible to set a target in December," Martinez told reporters. "All we are doing is taking it game by game, and we are quite happy now with where we are.

"We are just trying to get as many points as we can before we go into the final third of the competition.

"If we go into it with options to get into the top four, that is what we will look to do. If it is another aim, we will try to finish as strong as we can."

Romelu Lukaku scored the winner for Everton after Southampton's Gaston Ramirez had cancelled out Seamus Coleman's opener.