Rafael Benitez, the former manager of Liverpool, Everton, and Chelsea, has told Everton that he left them in a better situation than they are now under current manager Frank Lampard, claiming that he was not given enough time to complete his goals at Goodison Park.
Everton has the worst away record in the Premier League, having conceded 19 goals in seven consecutive defeats and having not won since August.
Now, 62-year-old Benitez, who coached Everton before Lampard took over, claims he has no regrets about joining Everton, where fans soon turned against him because of his Liverpool ties.
Benitez believes that if he was given more time to enhance the team’s performance on the pitch, they would not be fighting for survival like they are today under Frank Lampard.
Lampard must take responsibility for Everton’s relegation battle, according to the Spaniard, who also claimed that social media’s criticism led to his firing in January.
He said: “It was a decision with a certain logic at the time… but seems I was wrong. But I don’t see it that way. At that moment, Everton was a competitive team, we thought it would work. But when we left we were six points behind tenth, with two games less, and six points above relegation.
“It was a bad position for what was expected, but consistent and realistic with the investment and injuries. From there, we talk about patience and trust, but people get nervous, social media influences things and a decision is made.
“Once we left, Everton made five new signings, got all the players back and had a new manager, who had to assume his responsibility. We did well at the beginning, we were a bit unlucky later and we didn’t have time to keep doing things and adjust.”
Benitez was appointed manager of the Toffees last summer but was fired after only 22 games.
Performances were very poor and a defeat to Norwich City in January proved to be the final straw for Benitez, who was fired after the setback at Carrow Road.
