Rafael Benitez prepared for his first Merseyside derby as Everton manager insisting, ‘I’m a Blue now’ as he shrugged off any concern that a defeat would hasten his swift Goodison demise.
In normal circumstances, Benitez’s pledge of loyalty ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with the neighbours he famously led to Champions League triumph in 2005 would be reassuring to Evertonians.
But this will be a derby like no other, where the Everton manager is considered a legend by rival fans while fighting the tide to win over his own supporters having dropped to 14th after 13 games.
Benitez made his best efforts to treat the fixture like any other in his pre-match Press conference. There is no disguising how awkward it will be if he receives more love from the away end than the Gwladys Street.
Little wonder Benitez sought to erase any ambiguity about his allegiances, vowing to ignore any chanting of his name by Liverpool fans.
“I think the fans know me, they appreciate what I have done over there and now they also appreciate I’m a Blue and I want to win and I will try to win,” said Benitez. “I will try just to win the game and get three points for us. “We will try to give everything.”
Not for the first time, Benitez offered a thorough evaluation of Everton’s current plight, and the most reasonable among his audience are sympathetic to the view the poor form is a consequence of years of dysfunction rather than weeks of underperformance.
His problem on Wednesday is derby judgments are usually more emotional than rational, so whatever support the coach has is conditional on a rapid upturn in performances.
The last manager to suffer a humiliating derby defeat – Marco Silva – was relieved of his duty before the next game in December 2019. Benitez is sure a similar fate is not on the agenda.
“I think they [the Everton board] realise over the years that changing managers – changing the way to do things – is not right, it is not productive, and hopefully we can keep this stability,” said Benitez, who has Richarlison and Demarai Gray available to start.
“When you arrive you think you can change things quickly and then you realise you will need more time. We need a couple of results now to grow in confidence and then bring the [injured] players back. But, OK, we have to start winning. I understand that. It is a question of when, but I am sure we will do it.”
