Alan Shearer has shared his thoughts on Newcastle United’s future under the stewardship of Rafa Benitez when speaking to BBC’s Premier League Show (with quotes sourced by the Chronicle.)
The Magpies are in stunning form at the top of the Championship after a shaky start to the campaign under the Spaniard and a quick-fire return to the Premier League is slowly looking like an inevitably on Tyneside.
In order to keep a hold of the 56-year-old, those behind the scenes at St. James’ Park handed him almost unprecedented control of the Toon Army in every aspect.
It marked a change for the Magpies, who finally have a manager capable of bringing the club forward following years of sleepwalking into relegation, something Shearer hopes they can keep.
He’s urged the board to back the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid coach should he win promotion, fearing he could leave should he not receive sufficient support.
“I think this is such a key period for Newcastle, the next 12 months”, said Shearer.
“They’ve got an iconic figure, a world-class manager, who has achieved almost everything in the game that you can, to have him at Newcastle and to waste that, they now have to back him, or once they get up, they have to back him, otherwise he’ll be off – and we’ll be back to square one.”
