Everton striker Romelu Lukaku knows Roberto Martinez better than the majority of the Belgium squad.
The pair worked together at Everton, and whilst Lukaku may have made some perceivably negative comments about Martinez to the Belgian press, when he was his club manager, everything is different now the Spaniard is in charge of the national team.
If anything, Martinez wields more power over Lukaku now than he did at Everton, given the options he has and the different ways of playing.
Belgium’s DH have quoted Everton’s Lukaku as explaining: “The coach showed us the mistakes of the past. Everyone must be ready because the competition is tough. The coach reminds us every day in training. If you’re not right, he puts another player in.”
There’s a positivity from Belgium’s players towards the new regime, and the victory over Cyprus assisted that. With the next two matches being against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Gibraltar, two more wins will be expected.
