One of the major reasons Rafa Benitez decided to stay at Newcastle United following their relegation from the Premier League was the support he got from the club’s fans.
Despite meekly surrendering their top-flight status after a myriad of failings behind the scenes, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid coach was won over by the beleaguered Toon Army.
So, with optimism in the air, the Tyneside titans managed to begin a Championship campaign in good spirits, an amazing feat in its own right.
While life back in the second tier hasn’t exactly been plain sailing, recent goings on with ‘keeper Matz Sels are surely a cause for concern.
Forced to briefly delete his Twitter account following abuse after the recent draw with Aston Villa, the Belgian has taken the brunt of criticism reasonably often this season.
While some of it may well be deserved, and we as fans have every right to criticise, the nature of some of the abuse is quite frankly ridiculous.
Still new to life in England, the 24-year-old is part of the project taken on by Benitez in his attempts to restore the good times to the Magpies.
Lambasting him to such an extent after one relatively poor performance, in a game where a number of others failed to perform, is completely going against what tempted such an illustrious coach to stay at the club.
It must be said that there has also been strong support for Sels by the majority of fans, but the fact he felt the need to remove himself from social media is a scary one.
Amid the long and arduous Championship campaign, there will invariably be games in which some of the players don’t perform. There is no getting away from that.
If such a poisonous feeling to one of the stars arises after a draw with Villa, on a ground where the club rarely enjoy success, a ridiculous amount of pressure will dog them across the next 36 games.
As we’ve seen during the losses to Fulham and Huddersfield, the players aren’t exactly at their best under such pressure.
Benitez is trying to change the culture at St. James’ Park and is undoubtedly the best man to do so.
Let’s not refuse to change with him.
