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Martinez lauds debutant Barry

'He's a pristine professional'

Roberto Martinez hailed the performance of one of his deadline-day acquisitions following Gareth Barry's impressive debut in Saturday's win over Chelsea.

The England international completed a season-long loan move from Manchester City just minutes before the closure of the transfer window and played a crucial role in preserving the Blues's precious advantage against Jose Mourinho's highly-fancied team.

Slotting into the defensive holding role vacated by Marouane Fellaini, Barry did brilliantly to deny Samuel Eto'o a certain goal after Tim Howard had passed the ball straight to Andre Schurrle in his own area.

But he shone in his overall performance and his new manager was full of praise for the 32 year-old:

"I've been a big admirer of Gareth over the years," Martinez said. "I think that no Englishman plays that role as well. I think Gareth is very unique."

"That profile of midfielder doesn't exist in English football. You always get a lot of foreign players coming in and playing that role really well. But Gareth Barry is something else.

"He senses danger like nobody. He gives you great composure, he's full of good decisions, he establishes good relationships all over the park. And then you see a player like him who he hasn't played any minutes officially this season and he shows that fitness level.

"It shows you that he's a pristine professional, that he works really well and I think he's going to be an incredible influence to James McCarthy and Ross Barkley as youngsters. He's going to be the perfect guidance for the future."

Barry, meanwhile, gave huge credit to the home fans for playing their part in a stirring first victory for Martinez.

“I've said all week that I had been looking forward to being on the right side of fans,” said Barry who has tasted defeat under the lights at Goodison playing for Manchester City over the last four years. “They are the 12th man and to have them on our side made the difference in the end. It was brilliant and hopefully that can continue all season.

“There was a fantastic atmosphere out there. These night games at Goodison always have a great atmosphere and the boys put in a great shift and thoroughly deserved the three points.”

Quotes or other material sourced from Click Liverpool

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