Roberto Martinez Departs from Everton: Latest Details and Reaction

Roberto Martinez's disappointing tenure as Everton's manager has come to an end, as the club announced his departure on Thursday:

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Everton Football Club regrets to announce that Roberto Martinez has left his position as First Team Manager with immediate effect.

The Chairman and the Board of Directors would like to place on record their thanks for the dedication and commitment Roberto has shown during his three seasons with the Club.

Roberto has been a great ambassador for the Club, conducting himself, at all times, with the utmost integrity and dignity.

He secured the Club its highest ever Premier League points total, a place in the last 16 of the Europa League and appearances in both domestic cup semi-finals.

He has also played a key role in the development of several young players, managing their progression to the Everton First Team and International honours.

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The news comes ahead of the Toffees' last Premier League match of the season against Norwich City on Sunday, with the club announcing David Unsworth and Joe Royle will be in charge for the contest, via Sky Sports News HQ.

The Catalan released his own statement via the LMA website, in which he states it was an "honour" to take charge of the Toffees:

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I am clearly disappointed that we won’t be able to finish what we started and I feel that the forthcoming transfer window would have been significantly important for many reasons.

I will treasure this period as Everton manager forever—the memories of reaching a club record 72 points tally in the Premier League, reaching the final 16 of the Europa League and the excitement of reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cups this season.

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Stu Forster/Getty Images

Martinez's departure had been coming for some time after a terrible 2015-16 Premier League season, and he leaves the Merseyside club sitting 12th in the English top flight.

Though he has developed some exciting attacking talent during his three seasons in charge at the club—the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley have improved immensely—Everton have become frail at the back during the 42-year-old's tenure.

Indeed, the Toffees' defensive record has gotten progressively worse over the last three terms, a decline reflected in their league position, per Sky Sports News HQ:

Consistently unable to protect leads, Everton have won only five of their 18 Premier League home matches so far in 2015-16, per ESPN FC's Luke O'Farrell:

The Spanish manager has lost the support of Everton fans, with a late-season 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby a real low point.

Even the ever-positive Martinez admitted feeling "embarrassed" after the Anfield defeat, per BBC Sport's Phil McNulty.

A recent humbling defeat to champions Leicester City was followed by Wednesday's 3-0 drubbing to relegation-battling Sunderland, as Everton showed no signs of finishing the season well.

UEFA Champions League or Europa League qualification was out of the question all too early in the Premier League term, but Everton's decent FA Cup run proved a lifeline for Martinez for a little while.

The Toffees saw off top-flight sides Bournemouth and Chelsea to reach the Wembley Stadium semi-finals but were then knocked out in the last four by Manchester United.

Martinez arrived at Everton with a good reputation, following impressive spells at Swansea City and Wigan Athletic, which included an FA Cup win with the Latics.

He departs Goodison Park with that reputation somewhat dented, and Everton will now begin the search for his replacement as they look to return to top-six contention in the Premier League.