Ashley Williams has told BBC Sport he fears Rafa Benitez could be on borrowed time at Everton if the Spaniard cannot turn the Goodison Park side’s Premier League form around.
The Toffees held Tottenham Hotspur to a goalless draw on Sunday to snap a three-match losing streak. Leaving the Merseyside natives just 11th in the table after the first 11 games.
Everton have now not won in the top-flight in their last five matches since beating Norwich City. Edging the relegation-threatened basement boys 2-0 at home on September 25.
Only Aston Villa claimed fewer points than Everton (2) over the last five Premier League games. The Birmingham outfit lost all five of their games, costing Dean Smith his job.
Villa joined sacking season when they fired Smith on Sunday. Following Watford dismissing Xisco Munoz, Newcastle United sacking Steve Bruce, Tottenham firing Nuno Espirito Santo and Norwich parting with their two-time Championship-winning boss Daniel Farke.
Williams fears Everton form could cost Benitez
Everton went through three mangers in the three-years that Williams spent on the books at Goodison following a £12m move from Swansea City. Ronald Koeman welcomed him to Merseyside in 2016, before Sam Allardyce and Marco Silva occupied the Blues hot seat.
Williams fears Benitez could now make it five in just over five-years if Carlo Ancelotti’s successor cannot revive Everton’s fortunes. Pointing to the recent spate of sackings.
“We’ve seen in the past couple of weeks that every Premier League manager is only a few defeats away from the sack,” Williams said. “And things are probably even worse for Benitez because some fans were disgruntled before he even started.
“He shouldn’t be under pressure, because what Everton need is someone who can build success. It is not going to happen instantly, they should know that by now and changing their manager so often, recently, has definitely been a disruption.
“Benitez is a top-class manager and of course he could deliver that long-term vision, if he is given time. As a former Liverpool manager in charge of Everton, though, I am just not sure he will get it.”
Everton’s form under Benitez since beating Norwich will have owner Farhad Moshiri on alert. He will not want the Goodison outfit to drift further away from the European places.
But Moshiri is unlikely to have an itchy finger yet. He spoke fondly of what the Spaniard brought to the job after handing him a £135k-a-week contract when Ancelotti suddenly upped sticks to return to Real Madrid this summer.
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