Rafa Benitez may no longer have the chance to sign a new contract if Liverpool crash out of the Champions League and continue to lose ground of Manchester United in the Premier League.
Yesterday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Anfield means the Reds are now seven points behind their arch-enemies and with a vastly inferior goal difference.
The two teams have to play each other next month and a failure to keep in the race by carving out a critical victory could cost Benitez his job.
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks runs the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball where he has shown he is not afraid to fire underachieving managers and Benitez is also losing faith with George Gillet, who shares power at Anfield, meaning his job security could soon hang in the balance.
Benitez was in a position of strength at the turn of the year when Liverpool were favourites to win their first title in nearly two decades.
But six home draws and four shares of the spoils away from home mean no team has drawn more than Liverpool in the league this season.
And with his Champions League triumph in Istanbul now fading into distant memory and his refusal to sign a new deal irking his bosses, there is no doubt the Spanish manager's lustre is also beginning to fade.
His position will become untenable if Liverpool fail to beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday and crash out to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
After that they face Sunderland and then it's off to United at Old Trafford where Sir Alex Ferguson's team could hammer the final nail in Benitez' managerial coffin.
If the axe falls on the former Valencia coach, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now at Inter Milan, will be the favourite to take command with Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill also in the running.
Yesterday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Anfield means the Reds are now seven points behind their arch-enemies and with a vastly inferior goal difference.
The two teams have to play each other next month and a failure to keep in the race by carving out a critical victory could cost Benitez his job.
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks runs the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball where he has shown he is not afraid to fire underachieving managers and Benitez is also losing faith with George Gillet, who shares power at Anfield, meaning his job security could soon hang in the balance.
Benitez was in a position of strength at the turn of the year when Liverpool were favourites to win their first title in nearly two decades.
But six home draws and four shares of the spoils away from home mean no team has drawn more than Liverpool in the league this season.
And with his Champions League triumph in Istanbul now fading into distant memory and his refusal to sign a new deal irking his bosses, there is no doubt the Spanish manager's lustre is also beginning to fade.
His position will become untenable if Liverpool fail to beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday and crash out to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
After that they face Sunderland and then it's off to United at Old Trafford where Sir Alex Ferguson's team could hammer the final nail in Benitez' managerial coffin.
If the axe falls on the former Valencia coach, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now at Inter Milan, will be the favourite to take command with Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill also in the running.
No comments:
Post a Comment