V EVERTON RAFA: TIME FOR LONG HARD LOOK IN MIRROR

RAFA BENITEZ believes the time has come for Everton to get real and understand the problems which cannot be solved overnight.

After a flying start to his Everton career the Blues have hit the buffers spectacularly, with a disappointing defeat by West Ham followed by a desperate performance against rampant Watford.

Both lame losses came in front of an angry Goodison support, with fans venting their frustration. And while Benitez accepts that response, he argues it will take time to change the mentality of a side that has shown frailty for some seasons now.

“We have to understand the starting point here, and the characteristics of this team, because last year they were really good at times, and then could not manage,” he said.

“And this year we had similar players, a team that finished 10th last season and we did not spend because of the FFP rules.

“We are missing some important players, too. So then you have to make sure you are working on the mentality, on the approach, on the tactics, and everything to give them this belief, this confidence that will be crucial during the season.”

Benitez (above) revealed many former players and others connected to the club had all told him the same thing – that the squad did not respond well to setbacks.

And his work from day one has been centred on making Everton more consistent so they can avoid nightmare scenarios like the final 13 minutes against Watford, where they shipped four embarrassing goals.

”I want to be sure the team is strong enough mentally, tactically, physically, and that we approach games and know you have a possibility to win the game,” he said.

“But we have to see it is impossible to go from zero to 100 if you consider things normally.

“We go little by little, changing things.

“I want to be sure that when we go to games we are competitive.”