‘We never gave up’ insists Roberto Martinez, but is his Everton spell over?

The resounding defeat at the Stadium of Light was their sixth in the last 10 Premier League games, a run of form that could see the Toffees finish 16th if results do not go their way on the final day of the season.

It was a performance that provided little encouragement for the few away fans that made the trip to the north east for a game that saw Sam Allardyce's side ensure their survival.

Speaking after the game though, Martinez remained positive and upbeat.

Asked if he was let down by the display, he said: “No, I wouldn’t say the performance.

"It was a very tough result to take. We started the game really well. Then we got into a phase where we kept the ball well but didn’t have much of a threat in the final third.

“We were a little bit slow and pedestrian but I thought the effort and intent was there in a very competitive game.

“Goals play a big part in deciding these sort of games and the first goal was a disappointing action from us.

“I think it is one of those aspects in the game that plays a big part. Joel tries to read the ball and he goes into his post.

“Then that momentum gives Sunderland another goal from a corner and the scoreline becomes very, very difficult.

“But we never gave up. And second half again Sunderland were very efficient in front of goal. At times through merit, at times through a little bit of luck, which plays a big part.

“The scoreline is tough to take because we kept pushing, we kept creating chances and I thought Vito Mannone was in a very good moment of form.

“Overall we fought for every ball, we put in a lot of effort and Sunderland got the goals.”

Martinez's positvity is remarkable in the face of such a visible dip in form and application from his team. Since losing in the last minute of the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United last month Everton have downed tools, and won only once since the beginning of March.

Two semi-final cup runs have masked a hugely disappointing third season for Martinez at Goodison Park. A once admirable coach has lost his way and lost the plot. The meek surrender that has encapsulated the second-half of Everton's season does not match-up with the vibrancy he initially brought to Everton in an impressive 2013-14 campaign.

But the facts point to a manager who has lost his grip on the situation and is struggling to motivate the dressing-room.

Wednesday night was the 10th time this season Everton have conceded two goals within six minutes of one another. Incredibly, they haven't recovered a single point from losing positions in their last 22 Premier League games.

In their last five league games Everton have conceded 116 opposition shots on goal, and 84 in their last three away games. The stench of Wigan has never quite escaped Martinez.

In 49.9 per cent stakeholder Farhad Moshiri the club have the finances and resources to be more than competitive, but they are being let down a lack of direction at board-room level and in the dugout.

All Martinez's uncomfortable utterances in the media do is betray a lack of ambition at England's fifth-most successful football club. In a season of such unbridled unpredictability, Everton's under-achievement is just that more inexcusable.