Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle United have struggled for consistency this season, having endured a poor run of winless games that has seen the Magpies plummet down the Premier League standings.
Newcastle sit just two points above the relegation zone, heading into tonight’s crucial clash against Everton at St. James’ Park, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in January and beyond- particularly with the club embroiled in takeover talks.
Benitez was frustrated in the summer due to a perceived lack of funds provided to him and he was heavily linked with an exit. However, he stayed on at the club and is crucial to their survival hopes.
The Spanish boss is certainly happy with his position at the club and doesn’t have any regrets about staying on at Tyneside. Quoted by The Chronicle, the experienced boss said:
“In terms of experience and what I was expecting from the fans, the city, everybody, it’s fine. I was surprised what we did in August but I tried to explain why I was surprised, and when I talked with Lee [Charnley], I think he knows my feelings.”
“And now it’s just trying to improve a team, where we have a lot of good players working really hard. It’s just trying to give them advice and have a positive influence and hope they will learn quickly.”
“The other day I was saying to one player: ‘Look at this.’ And he was saying: ‘But it doesn’t matter.’ Then you see the clips and they go, ‘oh’, and change. They cannot see some things that you can see because you have this experience. And then you try to give them this advice.”
“It is like when you are talking to your son, or in my case my daughter, but still she is making the same mistakes. So they need two or three times to understand.”
