Premier League English

Rafa Benitez confident about landing Everton job ‘in next few days’ despite fan backlash

News has it that Everton are reportedly set to appoint former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez as their new manager in a move that has triggered off a feisty fan backlash.

Former Reds boss Benitez has had further talks with Everton chiefs over filling the vacant managerial seat at Goodison Park after the sudden unexpected departure of former boss Carlo Ancelloti to Real Madrid. Following news of Benitez’s initial talks over the job earlier this month, there was a major backlash from Everton fans because of the Spaniard’s links to their long-time Merseyside rivals.

Benitez had been at the helm of Liverpool for six years and he even once actually labelled the Toffees a “small club” after a Merseyside derby clash in 2007 which ended in a 0-0 draw.

At the time, he said: “I was really disappointed because one team wanted to win the game and one team didn’t want to lose it.

“Everton put eight or nine men behind the ball and defended deep but that’s what small clubs do. When a team comes to Anfield and only want a point what else can you call them but a small club?”

Although the Spaniard has since apologised for the remark, Everton supporters are unlikely to let that go and remain unhappy about the idea of him taking over the reins despite his impressive CV.

However, the Mirror reports that Benitez held ‘secret talks’ with the club’s owners over the weekend to thrash out the ‘finer details’ of the deal and further stating that Benitez’s appointment ‘looks set to be confirmed in the coming days’.

It is claimed that the fan backlash did make majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri ‘nervous’ about appointing the 61-year-old, but Benitez’s camp is said to be confident that the deal will be completed.

Interesting times indeed do merit interesting decisions.