Roberto Martinez has described Romelu Lukaku's title talk as a "healthy dream".

The on-loan striker recently said that he believes Everton are title contenders, having lost just twice in the first half of the season.

"I think it's something natural. When you are a footballer and you come off the pitch and you feel satisfied with the players around you and the way you work as a team it is only natural to have that forward thinking if you want," the Daily Post quotes the manager as saying.

"When you are five points from the top halfway through the season, why not? In football you should always have big aspirations, you should always have big dreams and in the same way you should have a real humble approach about your work and work as hard as you can to improve on a daily basis.

"We have enough negativity around football. It's good when you have a real fresh, healthy dream to fight for. I think the group is excited and we want to push each other to get even more points in the second half of the season. It's an exciting position to be in."

Everton, who currently sit fourth in the table, face Stoke City this afternoon.