Rafael Benitez’s future has inevitably been under the spotlight again over the past few days. Doing an excellent job at Newcastle United, the Spaniard is being linked to other positions expected to become vacant in the Premier League and beyond.
That Newcastle’s takeover didn’t go through is another reason for possible doubt, with Benitez making it clear he wants more investment in the team going forward.
It would be no surprise if Benitez is tempted by another job, even given his happiness generally at Newcastle, but he could use the situation for leverage and force his current club to spend more money.
Perhaps that’s why he’s talking himself up in Spain. Marca have got themselves an interview with the former Liverpool boss, and he’s quoted as saying: “Many people ask me if this is more difficult than winning the Champions League with Liverpool. It is not comparable. The league is regularity. Saving Newcastle means that many things have been done well for a long time.
“Sometimes people don’t appreciate the difficulty. The economic difference between a newly promoted club and the rest is very great. There are teams with less name, but with more money to sign. Newcastle has not spent so much. Moreover, there has been a surplus from signings. Getting safe with five games to go with this background can almost be said to be a miracle.”
On being nominated for a manager of the year award, Benitez said: “It’s not easy to be nominated when you’re not in a team of the top. In modern society it seems that success equals titles. The good coach is the one who gets the most out of his team.”
There’s no doubt Benitez feels he couldn’t have achieved anything more with his Newcastle squad, and he’s not too modest to avoid pointing that out: “The keys have been the illusion, the delivery, the eagerness to improve and the relationship between the fans and the players. This team has achieved the maximum they could achieve with their technical level. The greatest joy you can have as a coach, when you’ve won everything, is to see how your players improve.”
Those Newcastle fans are clearly a big issue for Benitez, and a reason he stayed at the club after relegation from the Premier League: “They may be unhappy with certain things that happen in the club, but they are very loyal. Last season, in the second division, there were matches to which 9,000 traveled away from home, there were more Newcastle fans than the other team.
“It is a factor that conditions you when making the decision. Training in the second division was a risk because only one out of every three teams that goes down goes up the following year, but it was feasible. Up, as champions, was a resounding success.”
Marca say this is a key week in the manager’s future and point out he has a €6m release clause in his contract. On what happens now, the 58 year old said: “We are looking at the project, we have one more year of contract and there are many favourable things, but it is still a little early.”
