"Moshiri will be desperate" - Journalist drops Everton manager claim amid bizarre development

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is desperate to make the right managerial appointment after getting it wrong with Rafa Benitez, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.

Benitez was appointed as the Toffees' boss last summer, but he has already been shown the door after getting sacked earlier this month.

Having emerged as the leading contender for the job, MailOnline revealed Vitor Pereira was in London to hold talks over becoming Everton's new manager yesterday.

According to The Sun, Pereira is on a shortlist which also includes former Toffees frontman Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson.

But Pereira is understood to have impressed senior members of Everton's hierarchy during the interview process.

The possibility of the 53-year-old being appointed has not gone down particularly well within the fanbase, with furious supporters ramping up protests by graffitiing a wall at Goodison Park, suggesting they would rather Lampard move into the hot seat, and making their voices heard outside club offices in Liverpool.

Everton shareholder Mike Parry also made his objections to Pereira heading to Merseyside clear by blasting Moshiri on Twitter.

There has, however, been a bizarre development as Pereira suggested, in an interview on Sky Sports, he could pull out of the race for the job due to the backlash his expected arrival has resulted in.

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O'Rourke believes Moshiri is feeling the pressure to make the right appointment after taking the risk of handing former Liverpool chief Benitez the job backfired.

The journalist understands Pereira is edging towards moving into the Goodison Park hot seat after Ferguson was placed in