Leighton Baines: David Moyes and Roberto Martinez are completely different… Everton have thrown off the shackles this season

• Roberto Martinez told Everton to aim for Champions League as soon as he joined, says Leighton Baines
  
• Baines says Martinez is 'different' to former boss David Moyes
  
• Moyes set to return to Goodison Park as Manchester United boss on Sunday
• Match will be first time Moyes has been back to Everton since quitting club
  

By Graeme Yorke

Published: 11:34 EDT, 18 April 2014 | Updated: 12:52 EDT, 18 April 2014

Leighton Baines has revealed how Roberto Martinez has thrown off the shackles during his first season at Everton, allowing them to concentrate on playing their own game rather than adapting to the opposition.

The England left-back spoke of how the Spaniard 'set the bar high' and believed Everton could qualify for the Champions League from the moment he replaced David Moyes last summer.

Moyes will return to Goodison Park for the first time as Manchester United manager on Sunday afternoon but it's his former club who are pushing for Champions League football next season.

Changed team: Leighton Baines has said manager Roberto Martinez has removed the shackles at Everton

Euro vision: Martinez has encouraged Everton to push for Champions League football next season

Return: David Moyes will take Manchester United to Goodison Park on Sunday for the first time since leaving

'The two managers are totally different, in every way,' Baines told The Guardian. 'They both have things they are really good at but with the current manager, he's ultra-positive. He takes the positive from every single scenario.

'That's been the big thing for me: the difference in the style of play, committing to that and not feeling like we have to adapt to the opposition.

'The new manager has that confidence and belief in himself, in his own blueprint. And then in us.'

Road to Rio: Baines is expected to be England's first choice left-back at the World Cup in Brazil

Losing cause: Everton's chances of finding fourth took a hit when they were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace

In the hunt: Everton are a point off fourth place in the Premier League, with Arsenal to overhaul

Martinez's style has certainly paid off, with Everton's tally of 66 points already higher than any campaign under Moyes.

They still have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2005, despite a midweek 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

And Baines, who is likely to be Roy Hodgson's first-choice left-back in Brazil, says their approach will not change in the run-in.

'He tells us we're not going to change, we're just going to improve constantly and keep practising until we get to the level where we want to be. Stick to it, don't compromise, get better at it.

At the helm: Martinez has stuck to his attacking football principles this season

'He also spoke about the Champions League from the start. He didn't shy away from it. He came in straight away and set the bar high.

'We might have got away with a fairly ordinary season - the changeover with the new manager, a transitional season - but he didn't want to accept that.'