Spaniard Rafael Benitez admitted that his tenure at Everton as manager was doomed from the start due to his previous relationship with Liverpool.
The 62-year-old Spaniard had coached the Reds for six years, winning the Champions League in 2005, but took over from Everton in June 2021 amid fierce opposition from fans.
Benitez, who was sacked as Everton manager in January 2022 after nine defeats in 13 games, spoke of the difficulties he faced.
“At first I thought we could improve everything in terms of people, departments, teams and things like that,” Benitez said in comments reported by the Daily Mail. “I thought we could help make things better. It was an experience and a shame for the same time.”
“I knew the fans would say ‘I was at Liverpool’ and it would be a problem, I have many friends who knew I would give my all and do my best to make things better at Everton.”
He continued: “I knew it could be difficult because I was a manager for the opponent (Liverpool) in the previous period.”
Benitez got off to a good start with Everton when he was four games unbeaten and was named manager one month, but as the results began to slip, fans expressed their displeasure, chanted slogans and waved banners at the manager.
He continued: “I didn’t feel like everything was going well, when the fans and owners are not happy, nothing can be perfect.”
He continued: “I knew we had to change things on the inside, but I couldn’t do it right away because I was part of the Liverpool team, I wanted to improve and I couldn’t do it.”
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