Rafa Benitez makes Everton future claim amid pressure ahead of Liverpool derby and Farhad Moshiri talks

Rafa Benitez has warned Everton's constant changing of managers has not been ‘productive’ and stability is needed after coming under fire.

The Toffees have been in wretched form heading into tonight's Merseyside derby against Liverpool.

What’s been said

They've won just once in their past 10 games, with the latest a 1-0 loss at Brentford, and dropped to 14th in the Premier League.

As a result, sections of supporters have aimed their frustrations at Benitez, with some calling for him to be sacked. He’s also the bookies’ heavy favourite for the next top-flight manager to lose his job.

The Spaniard is the Blues' sixth permanent boss since David Moyes departure in 2013 and he believes owner Farhad Moshiri now wants someone at the helm long-term.

Benitez told reporters: “I am in constant communication with the board and Mr Moshiri so I have this feeling that they realise that over the years changing managers – even changing the profile of the managers – didn’t work and was not productive.

“He [Moshiri] is clever enough. He realised that maybe it was not the way and he’s trying to find a better way to make sure we are stronger.

“They [the board] know that we need stability, they know that is really important for changing things in the future and hopefully we can keep this stability.”

Financial struggles

A reason behind Benitez's struggles is that he was able to spend just £1.7 million during the summer transfer window.

Previous profligacy, with Everton splashing out £500 million on players in recent seasons, means they were teetering on the edge of financial fair play rules.

“You can’t blame the owner for spending a lot of money,” added Benitez.

“It is just that we have to be sure we do things right in the future and the reason why we can’t spend now is because the Premier League rules don’t allow us to do that.

“Hopefully we can manage in a better way, we can sell some players at a profit and we can use this money to improve the squad and to ensure we are stronger.”