Rafa Benitez urges Everton stars to 'stick together' amid winless run

Rafa Benitez urges misfiring Everton stars to ‘stick together’ amid EIGHT-MATCH winless run… as under-fire boss stresses ‘commitment’ is not to blame for their miserable run of form

  • Everton were thrashed 4-1 at home by Merseyside rivals Liverpool on Wednesday
  • Rafa Benitez’s side are now without a win in eight Premier League matches
  • The Spaniard’s position as Toffees boss has come under increasing scrutiny
  • He has called on his players to keep working hard amid their recent struggles 

Everton’s squad must stick together amid an eight-match winless run in the Premier League, manager Rafa Benitez said on Friday, stressing that their dip in form was not due to a lack of commitment.

Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat by local rivals Liverpool condemned 14th-placed Everton to their third straight loss and sixth in seven matches to heap the pressure on their manager, who had an illustrious past with the team’s Merseyside neighbours.

With bookmakers on Thursday saying Benitez was favourite to be the next top-flight manager to be sacked, the 61-year-old suggested they could bolster the squad in the January transfer window to arrest their slide.

Everton’s squad must stick together amid an eight-match winless run, Rafa Benitez insists

‘Now is a time we have to stick together, go into January in the best position we can,’ Benitez told reporters.

‘You can complain about our mistakes, quality, things like that – but not commitment. We must work really hard.

‘Why am I still positive? Because we did it at the beginning. You can’t be a bad or good manager in one week. 

‘If the team was really good, signed two wingers, made crosses – we can’t be wrong in everything after six weeks. 

The Toffees were thrashed 4-1 by Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park on Wednesday

Benitez has called on his under-performing squad to continue working hard and get results

‘My main thing is to concentrate on football issues, analyse the mistakes. I don’t want to blame individuals, we win or lose as a group. 

‘We know the problems, the club has been changing managers for a while and it wasn’t changing the situation.’

Everton face a tricky test against fifth-placed Arsenal on Monday, with Mikel Arteta’s side looking to respond to their midweek 3-2 defeat by Manchester United.

Defender Yerry Mina, who has been out since October with a hamstring injury, and forward Salomon Rondon (knock) could be in contention to play. 

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is two weeks away from a return following a quadricep issue.




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