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Cape Town - Everton boss Roberto Martinez has revealed that Leighton Baines apologised for the negative comments he made about the team in the wake of their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.
The Toffees left-back claimed they were lacking chemistry while being too reliant on certain individuals, after suffering a third straight loss in the Premier League.
The reverse at Old Trafford also saw the Merseysiders fail to set a new club record for games unbeaten on the road in the league, which came to a halt at eight outings.
Martinez claims the remarks from Baines were taken out of context, although he moved to defend the closeness of the squad as they go in search of a first win in four matches at Watford on Saturday.
"First, it's very disappointing when you see a misinterpretation of certain words that a player says," the Spaniard said.
"What he intended to say is that when you're not getting the results you lose confidence so a ball that could go in hits the crossbar and it goes out.
"At the other end, a half-chance ends up in the back of the net. That's what he meant and it was more of a feeling of disappointment and frustration and obviously he used the wrong words.
"This has been taken out of context, clearly, in the way it's come out. The experience of someone like Leighton Baines, he has to take responsibility for those words.
"They may attract a meaning that is not correct and for that he has apologised, for leaving those words open. But we expect that at Everton, that a senior player takes responsibility."
Martinez added: "I wouldn't say we are a team who relies on individuals. We depend on the whole team, getting high up the pitch and creating chances.
"Of course we do in the sense that the team is made of individuals. In some cases, some young players have had the best campaigns of their careers so far.
"We've got a very close group. We know each other. We've been through many situations and we are developing a strong mentality.
"I don't think that will be tested by comments on the outside. It's important for our fans to understand certain words can be taken out of context."
