UK Edition
Ronald Koeman: Valencia was much worse than Everton 'crisis'
Ronald Koeman has suggested that Everton’s crisis is nothing compared to the troubles that confronted him when he was manager of Valencia.
Koeman is facing the biggest challenge of his 15 months as manager at Goodison Park, with the club in the Premier League relegation zone, despite an outlay of more than £140 million in the summer.
There has been trouble off the field, too, with Wayne Rooney banned from driving for two years on Monday. The former England captain was rested for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory over Sunderland but is likely to return for Saturday’s Premier League home match against Bournemouth, one of only two teams below them in the table.
Koeman is confident his ill-fated five-month spell in charge of Valencia a decade ago has more than equipped him for the challenge. It saw the club tumble from the top four towards relegation.
In addition, there was chaos off the pitch during Koeman’s time at Valencia, with work beginning on a planned new stadium that was never completed. Koeman was sacked in April 2008, days after winning the Copa del Rey.
He said: “You always have tough periods as a manager. You know that you can win today and then lose the next three games. “You can’t compare Valencia with Everton or Southampton or Benfica or PSV because that was really difficult and it was a revolution with a new stadium that was not built and still isn’t finished, I believe. That was the wrong club at the wrong time.
“But even when it is a negative period it is a learning point. That is OK and no problem now.
“It was a bad experience but even a bad experience can be good for the future."