Martinez: Mirallas and Lennon MUST earn their place alongside Barkley and Stones

Manager Roberto Martinez refused to make a firm commitment to opening contract talks with Mirallas in the summer as the Belgium attacker's long-term plans remain unclear.

Mirallas has previously stated he would assess his future at the end of the season and Martinez said the player's outlook would be crucial to determining whether negotiations begin.

"I know there have been a couple of times Kevin's had quotes translated from interviews, and I don't think anything he has said is disrespectful or out of the norm," said Martinez.

"The way I see it he's one of those players who loves playing football and he hasn't got any other motivation.

"He still has a two-year contract, and if he were out of contract I'd be worried. We may look at his contract in the summer. We will need to sit down with a lot of the players.

"But the most important thing is the player himself. We are building something for the future.

"This season has been challenging, but you can build a future around young players like Ross Barkley and John Stones."

Tottenham have been linked with a swap deal with Mirallas and Aaron Lennon who ending up moving to Everton on loan and is keen to land a permanent move.

Martinez, who faces former club Swansea today, would have to pay around £6m for Lennon and has warned him he cannot afford to let his standards slip.

"He has to keep playing the way he's playing. He's been a really impressive footballer," said Martinez.

"The way he's engaged with the other players has been quite impressive. He's brought know-how and experience but also that freshness of wanting to show what he can do.

"If he can carry on enjoying his football then, like any loan situation, it's a three-way conversation that, first of all, the player needs to see that experience as a positive one and then we'll see what the parent club wants to do.

"But it's not a decision we need to make now. The next seven games is an eternity in football."