Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy is backing Rafa Benitez for success with Everton.
He wrote for the Daily Mail: "Contrary to what people might think, there is no lasting bitterness on my part that I left Liverpool in that summer of 2004 because Rafa wanted to sign Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso. We shook hands a long time ago and I think this is a great appointment by Everton, though it would have been even better three or four years ago.
"Rafa is brutally honest — though players prefer that to being strung along — and there is clarity in his thinking. He won the Champions League and FA Cup at Liverpool, and other trophies at Valencia, Napoli, Inter Milan and Chelsea so while his methods might not be liked by all, they are justified.
"Everton will become a well-organised unit under Rafa having been too easy to play against last season. The club's best spell in the last 20 years was under David Moyes when they were always awkward opponents. Rafa's coaching will make Everton competitive, building from the back."
