ONE STEP TOO FARH

Everton board persuade owner Moshiri not to make ‘knee-jerk” appointment of Pereira... and so legend Rooney still a possibility

EVERTON have pulled back from the appointment of Vitor Pereira with owner Farhad Moshiri persuaded not to make another kneejerk managerial decision.

And that means the possibility of Wayne Rooney making a return to the club where his story started is not completely dead – with the England legend on the list of alternatives.

After another traumatic weekend at the club, where defeat by Aston Villa brought home the now very real threat of a relegation fight, Moshiri and his backer Alisher Usmanov spoke to Pereira in Monaco.

They were impressed, even though the Portuguese coach’s most recent experience of a relegation battle was with Bundesliga 2 club 1860 Munich... where he arrived in January and saw them relegated in May.

But that provoked strong resistance among the club’s board and on the senior executive, especially given the disastrous appointment of Rafa Benitez by Moshiri and Usmanov still fresh in the mind.

It’s understood there is now a determination within the club – and backed by Moshiri – to at least explore viable alternatives to Pereira over the next 24 hours with the idea of an interim manager now a possibility.

Those alternatives include Rooney (below), who was on the original shortlist, but was never formally interviewed.

With Moshiri holding fire, he is likely to get that interview, if his current club Derby agree.

But Everton will cast the net wider as they use the short breathing space afforded by the owner to try to explore as many avenues as possible.

It’s believed talks continued last week with the Belgian FA over Roberto Martinez and there will be one last contact before any appointment is made.

Frank Lampard has already been interviewed but could be invited to speak to Usmanov and Moshiri, while Niko Kovac, the former Bayern Munich boss, and Rudi Garcia, who had real success with Lyon,

will both be invited to give talks. The Everton board will also look at possible interim managers, pursuing a similar idea to Manchester United who appointed the experienced Ralf Rangnick. That could open up a chance for Rooney, however distant a prospect that is. Given Everton’s precarious position, there is a reluctance to place someone with limited experience in charge.

But alongside an interim with an appropriate CV, he could provide the boost the fans need, after a weekend of protests against Moshiri and his board.

Moshiri though, is not known for his patience after hiring six managers in his six years as the principal owner at Goodison.

He sacked Ronald Koeman and placed Sam Allardyce in charge – against the advice of his board – in what is widely accepted as the second most unpopular appointment in the club’s history behind former Liverpool manager Benitez.

The club knows they must have a new boss in charge before they face Brentford in the FA Cup on February 5, with Newcastle up just three days later.

Lose that and they could just be a single point above the relegation zone.