Former Everton manager Rafa Benitez has claimed it was "very clear" from the beginning that he would be unable to make his own "decisions" during his time at Goodison Park due to his previous position at Liverpool.
The Spaniard was relieved of his duties as Blues boss back in January after less than seven months in charge with Everton 15th in the Premier League table.
Despite a promising start to the season, which led to the Blues sitting fourth in the table in early September, the pressure quickly grew on Benitez as results nosedived and he was ultimately sacked following a dismal 2-1 defeat at Norwich City on January 15.
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The 62-year-old was replaced by Frank Lampard, who subsequently guided Everton to Premier League safety during the penultimate months of the season and has since implemented a clear style of play during his eight-month spell on Merseyside so far.
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Benitez opened up on his time at Goodison and why he found it difficult to implement his own changes during his short term.
"At the time Everton came in with the offer, I knew I would give my best and do everything to try to improve things," said Benitez. "I knew it could be difficult because I was at Liverpool, so maybe I couldn't make some decisions. It was very clear for us at the beginning.
"I had a meeting with a head of one of the departments and I asked him, 'do you think everything is fine?' He said, 'yeah, everything is perfect'. I thought '£600m had been spent, it cannot be perfect when the owners aren't happy and the fans are not happy.'
"So I realised we had to change things inside, but I couldn't do it straight away because I was a former Red and it could be seen as,. 'oh, he's come in to change our club'.
"In another club, I would have made those decisions. I did it in the past, because you know very clearly that is the way to improve, but there at Everton I couldn't do it."
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