WHO WILL BE THE NEXT EVERTON MANAGER?

EVERTON recently parted ways with Rafa Benitez. The sacking of the Spaniard was hardly surprising. He joined the club prior to the start of the season and Everton would have hoped that he could be the man to finally lead them to European football.

Instead, the club finds itself just six points above the relegation zone at the time of writing.

Everton are one of the few clubs that have never been relegated since the inception of the Premier League and they have been underachieving heavily. Things at the club need to change.

The following are four leading candidates to succeed Benitez:

Although Lampard’s spell in the Premier League as Chelsea manager was less than impressive, the one thing he did do was improve the Blues’ youth set-up.

However, the manner in which the Blues defence looked fragile and reckless, proved that Lampard’s managerial methods have several flaws.

Lampard is available, but Everton are likely to go with other experienced and safer options and settle on him as

Rooney will bring back inspiration to the club. He was one of their greatest ever youth products, having started his career with the Toffees before his legendary spell with Manchester United.

Rooney is still a young manager but he has already proven that he is a manager with a never-say-die spirit. His current club Derby County are so crisis ridden that they themselves would have been expecting relegation this season.

As things stand, Derby are second last in the Championship and unbeaten in their last six league games. It’s impressive that they are putting up a respectable fight in spite of their crises.

However, hiring Rooney could still be a risk given his inexperience at the highest level. As seen many times over, world-class and legendary players do not usually make brilliant managers.

Potter is one of the most underrated managers in English football. The 46-year-old has the ingredients to be a success at the helm of Everton. He has transformed Brighton into a solid Premier League side and they look set to earn a top 10 finish this season.

While Potter seems content with the project that he has going, he should look to aim higher and consider an offer should one from Everton arrive.

The 48-year-old is already very familiar with the surroundings at Goodison Park, having previously managed the Toffees from 2013-16.

Since leaving Everton, Martinez has attracted praise for the possession based style of football he has injected into Belgium, helping the Red Devils become the world’s top ranked football team.

With Belgium approaching the end of its golden generation, Martinez has likely already peaked with them. He may look for a fresh challenge and the Everton project is one that could suit him.

While Martinez’s previous spell at Goodison Park ended with a sacking, he had his share of positives and won over admirers as well.