Rafa not ruling out Reds

Rafael Benitez has refused to rule out a second coming at Liverpool ahead of his first match on Merseyside as Chelsea boss.

Interim Blues manager Benitez has been linked previously with a return to Anfield and will be a free agent again at the end of the season.

Tomorrow Benitez take a team to Merseyside for the first time since he was sacked by Liverpool two-and-a-half years ago when Chelsea visit Everton.

And asked if he could see himself returning to manage his former club one day, he said: “At the moment, I’m really pleased here.

“I want to keep winning and you never know what can happen in football.

“I have a very good relationship with the fans and the city but I’m a good professional and that means I will give 100% for this club.”

Benitez’s work ethic has helped him begin to rebuild his reputation as one of the most astute coaches around, the Spaniard having got Chelsea’s campaign back on track in recent weeks.

However, his latest comments are unlikely to aid him in his quest to win over Chelsea fans who still see him as the enemy due to his Liverpool connections.

He added ahead of tomorrow’s game at Goodison Park: “It is always something special when you go back to Liverpool.

Benitez family home remains on the Wirral near the city.

“When you have children, 10 and 14, they have their friends around and have been there for eight years so it is difficult to move the family and you have to do something for them.

“I have to move around on my own and then find a way to be there for Christmas dinner or whatever.”

During his time at Liverpool Benitez branded Everton one of the Premier League’s “smaller teams”, something that provoked a furious response from Liverpool’s arch-rivals.

Quizzed about his small-club jibe ahead of Sunday’s game, Benitez joked: “You have a good memory.”

He added of Everton: “I think they are doing a good job.

For his part Everton manager David Moyes is looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Benitez.

Overall, Moyes clashed 14 times with Benitez during the latter’s six-year spell with the Reds. Everton only managed to win three of those games, all at Goodison.

“It was always tough because Liverpool had a great team,” Moyes said. “It was always hard to get the better of them. They had a tremendous team, and still have.

“I think he (Benitez) always wanted to be in the Premier League. I think he enjoyed his stint here.

“I think, like a lot of people who come to this country, he enjoyed the honesty and the way the Premier League is played.

“I think he has bided his time to get another job.”

Moyes hopes to have midfielder Darron Gibson available for a game which could see Everton leapfrog third-paced Chelsea with a victory. Gibson is eligible after he and West Ham’s Carlton Cole successfully appealed against red cards for high tackles in last week’s meeting at Upton Park, but he has been troubled by a thigh strain.

Moyes was dismissive of fresh speculation concerning the future of left-back Leighton Baines.

A new report has claimed Chelsea are now interested in the England international but Moyes said he had not read it and “it will be wrong”.

Meanwhile, the agent of John Heitinga has been quoted as saying the Dutch defender is unhappy at the club.

The 29-year-old has made just eight starts this season.