Rooney among the candidates to coach Everton to replace Rafael Benitez

Wayne Rooney's name appeared among the candidates to take over the training of the English football team, Everton, to succeed Rafael Benitez, who was sacked by the club on Sunday.

And the British news agency "BA Media" reported that Benitez spent less than seven months in the training of Everton, and lost his job after the 2-1 loss to Norwich City on Saturday, the team's ninth loss in 12 Premier League games.

Everton are only six points clear of the clubs threatened with relegation, and Benitez, the former Liverpool coach, paid the price for the team's poor performance.

And Benitez, 61, issued a statement on his official website, admitting that he faced the challenge of obtaining the support of the Everton fans at the beginning of his tenure, and explained that the main reason behind the decline in the team's performance and his departure from the team is injuries.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and it was a huge challenge, both emotionally and athletically," he wrote.

"My love for this city, Merseyside County and its residents, has made me accept this challenge, but only when you are inside realize the scale of the task," he added.

And he added: "From my first day, my agency and I worked as we always do, with commitment and complete sincerity. We not only had to achieve positive results, but we also had to win people's hearts."

He stressed, "However, the financial situation, and then the injuries that followed it made things more difficult. I am convinced that once the injured returned and signed new players, we would have been better."

Rooney, the current Derby County manager, made 117 appearances for Everton in two stints with the team, and made his first-team debut at the age of 16 with Everton, which he played for as a youth.

Rooney returned to Everton in 2017 after spending 13 years with Manchester United, winning the Premier League title five times, the Champions League, the European League, the FA Cup and the League Cup three times.

Rooney ended his career as a player and is the historical top scorer for the English national team and Manchester United, and since that time Rooney took charge of Derby Count, and remained with the team despite his bankruptcy and deducted 21 points from his balance.

Despite the financial crises, Rooney led Derby to achieve eight victories this season to leave the last place in the first division table thanks to his victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.

Now Everton is looking to appoint the team's fifth permanent coach in the last three and a half years, and Rooney is among the top candidates, along with coaches such as Duncan Ferguson, Roberto Martinez and Frank Lampard.

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