Everton’s next manager options as Rafa Benitez ‘sacked’ after Norwich defeat

After a run of just one Premier League victory in 13 matches Everton are ready to pull the trigger on manager Rafa Benitez.

The board have called a meeting following the 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Norwich City on Saturday.

Benitez’s six-month reign will come to an end before the next match against Aston Villa on Saturday, 22 January, according to The Athletic.

‘Benitz out’ calls at Carrow Road

Everton travelled to Carrow Road without a league win since the start of December and defeat against a Norwich team which had been on a six-match losing streak increased the pressure on Benitez.

The supporters were calling for the Spaniard to leave the club before the game, with banners held aloft, and two goals in quick succession increased the tension between the former Liverpool manager and the fans.

Everton defender Michael Keane scored an own goal after 16 minutes and moments later, Adam Idah made it 2-0 to the hosts.

Substitute Richarlison pulled one back with a brilliant overhead bicycle kick with half an hour left to play but the Toffees could not find an equaliser.

Everton have now lost nine of their past 12 Premier League games and disgruntled fans unfurled a banner that read ‘Benitez get out of our club’.

What’s been said

After the match, Benitez said he could only concentrate on addressing issues on the pitch - such as the errors that led to the two goals - and the rest was ‘out of his hands’.

“I came here to fix issues that were coming from the last five years,’ he said.

“What I have to do now is analyse the mistakes we are making and make sure we avoid that for the future.

“The rest is not in my hands.”

He added: “We are disappointed, like the fans, and we have to improve things on the pitch, to do this is to keep working hard, to have all these players coming back and to be sure we make the right decisions and try to be better like we did in the second half.

“Overall you can see this team react but we have to be more proactive and we cannot be losing games and conceding quickly.

“We have to react and the important thing is the team is reacting and they care and they try but the bad thing is these mistakes are costing us games and points every week.”

Who could succeed Benitez?

The Spaniard is now the clear favourite with the bookies to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Here’s who they have listed as likely replacements:

Wayne Rooney 6/5

Duncan Ferguson 7/2

Frank Lampard 13/2

Paulo Fonseca 10/1

Graham Potter 12/1

Nuno Espirito Santo 16/1

Michael Carrick 16/1

Lucien Favre 20/1

Kasper Hjulmand 20/1

Patrick Vieira 2/1