Rafa Benitez urges fans to trust his experience as Everton edge past Hull in FA Cup
- Seb Sternik
- 8 January 2022
The under-fire Everton boss pointed to long-standing issues at the club as his men narrowly avoided a shock FA Cup exit.
The Toffees were taken to extra-time by Hull City and had to rely on a long-range effort from Andros Townsend to book their place in the fourth round.
The sixth-worst team in the Championship held their own against Everton as they enjoyed more possession and produced a total of 17 goal attempts in the 3-2 defeat.
Nevertheless, Benitez dodged a major bullet - one which would have certainly pushed him closer to the exit door.
The Spaniard underlined long-standing issues at the club and has vowed to use his experience as he continues to look for a turnaround in form.
He said: "What I said before, the problems that you try to fix are coming from a time ago.
"It's not that in the last three months we have different issues, so the issues are similar and you try to fix that. I have experience to do it. I will try to do my best.
"If some fans understand that, they will support the team. That is the main thing, to stay behind the team. If they don't understand that some of them, it's fine, it's up to them.
"But I will continue trying to do my best, be professional and be sure that we can improve what depends on us."
Everton return to Premier League action on Tuesday night when they welcome Leicester City to Goodison Park.
The Toffees are currently 15th in the league and sit eight points above the bottom three.
While the win over Hull doesn't help their position in the table, it does keep the club involved in a second competition. More importantly, it will also ease some pressure on the manager.
