Naismith started the match against Chelsea at the weekend on the bench but made a
stunning substitute appearance, downing the champions with a well-taken treble.
It has since emerged that the Scotland international wanted
to quit the club after a deadline-day bid from Norwich.
But Martinez insists there was never any chance of the
Toffees letting the 29-year-old go in the summer.
"It's only natural as a footballer that you want to
play games," Martinez told evertontv. "But, in the same way, we all
know and we're all well aware of what Steven brings to the side.
"When you've got a player who has that experience, that
know-how, that footballing intelligence, it's very difficult to replace in the
squad.
"Contact happened but it was impossible for us to be
able to allow Stevie to go because he's too important for the squad and that
was proven on Saturday.
"Clearly now our competition for places is fantastic
and we're only going to be as good over the course of the season as that
competition for places is.
"You can't rely on 11 players to perform week in and
week out - you need to have that sort of talent that is challenging each other.
And Stevie, as the pristine professional that he is, does that."
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