Everton boss Rafa Benitez among most likely in Premier League to be sacked – report
Everton manager Rafa Benitez is one of the closest Premier League managers to getting the sack, according to the Mirror.
The Spaniard was only appointed in the summer, but is currently enduring a difficult period at Goodison Park as the Toffees have failed to win any of their last five league games.
Benitez has been tasked with getting Everton back into Europe this season, but the club currently sit 11th in the table and travel to current champions Manchester City on Sunday.
In a report ranking the safety of Premier League managers’ jobs, the Mirror describe Benitez as ‘hovering above danger’, along with Watford’s Claudio Ranieri and Ralph Hasenhuttl of Southampton; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ‘on the edge’ at Manchester United.
It highlights how Benitez “was an unpopular choice in the first place” due to his Liverpool connections and that “few Evertonians will be disappointed” if he does lose his job.
Time running out
Benitez was always going to start life at Everton on the back foot with work to do, having previously managed city rivals Liverpool.
Take that link away though and the Spaniard’s experience in the game – at Anfield, Chelsea and Real Madrid among other places – made him a strong candidate to earn Everton European qualification for the first time since 2017.
The season has not started well and a League Cup exit to Championship side Queens Park Rangers has not helped, but it is still relatively early days.
The Toffees are only two points behind Manchester United in sixth – the position that should guarantee a side some form of European football.
However, their run of games between now and Christmas is a daunting one; they face Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in the next four weeks.
If Benitez fails to inspire improved performances from his squad, his time at Goodison Park could be over when it has barely even begun.
In other Everton news, the Toffees could be handed a triple injury boost ahead of their trip to Manchester City on Sunday.
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