Benitez believes Toffees are on the right path
Everton manager Rafael Benitez insists there is not that much wrong with his side, despite five matches without a win.
Things do not get easier with a trip to Premier League champions Manchester City today, but the Spaniard, who has been hamstrung by lengthy injuries to key players like Dominic Calvert- Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure, views the situation differently to observers.
“We know the Premier League is quite tough. My idea is very clear: one game at a time,” he said. “Football, in general, is a little bit emotional – when you are not winning it seems everything is wrong but it’s not wrong.
“We have been very close to winning and it is important to keep a team which is competitive and if we are like that you never know what can happen. Maybe we surprise and we win a couple in a row and talk about something else.”
Today’s trip to the Etihad is the start of a run of six matches in which they will also face Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Having slipped to 11th, it could well be a crucial period for Benitez’s reign. “All the teams in the world need results to get some confidence,” he added.
“I’m not happy if we are not winning but I have a lot of confidence in the side. I am sure we can start winning games and we have plenty of time to do well, especially when these players who are not available are back.”
One player who has benefited from the injury problems is former City midfielder Fabian Delph, who the club were trying to offload in the summer having made just 33 appearances since joining in the summer of 2019.
He was their best player in the goalless draw at home to Tottenham before the international break, which prevented a fifth successive defeat. “At the beginning,
I think everybody knows, and he knows, that we were thinking about replacing him,” added Benitez.
“But he was training really well, we were really pleased with the way he was in every training session, then he had the shoulder problem and then we had to wait for 10 weeks.
“I think he has the right mentality, the right attitude. He wants to play every game.
“I have to stop him in the training sessions because he’s pushing very hard. That is the right attitude that you are
expecting from any player.”