Everton legend Neville Southall has urged the club to steer clear of appointing Rafael Benitez and instead reiterated his desire to see Duncan Ferguson in charge.
On Wednesday evening, news emerged that the former Liverpool boss had become the front-runner for the vacant position at Goodison Park in a revelation which angered a lot of supporters.
The Spaniard won the Champions League with the Reds and one particular "small club" comment is still something fresh in the mind of many Evertonians.
However the 61-year-old had moved to the front of the queue for the Everton manager post after the surprise exit of Carlo Ancelotti at the beginning of the month.
But Benitez is not the man Southall wants to see in charge of his former club.
The Blues legend is still keen to see Ferguson take over as manager on a permanent basis after his promising brief temporary spell in charge before the appointment of Ancelotti in December 2019.
Southall told talkSPORT: "I think Rafa Benitez is a good manager.
"Is he right for Everton? No. Not a chance. He's Liverpool, they won't have it.
"He's going to have to produce something special, and at the moment with the squad we've got he's going to do well to produce something special there.
"For me I would rather have Duncan because look we're never going to get relegated, he's a good manager, I think he's far underrated than anybody else.
"He started before Ancelotti got us on a good run, he's quite knowledgeable on what he does, he knows the club inside out, he knows the younger players.
"So why not give him a season contract? Because we're not going to be in any worse than we would be at the end of next season as we are now.
"Rafa Benitez, no. Good manager in his own right, too many connections with Liverpool."
