Phil Thompson heaped praise of Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez for the job he had done at St James’ Park this season.
The Sky Sports pundit revealed that he feared for the Magpies’ Premier League status when the January transfer window closed and was full of praise for Benitez’s ability to keep his side in England’s top-flight for another season.
“I think he’s (Benitez) done an absolutely astonishing job,” said Thompson when reviewing the Magpies’ season for Sky Sports.
“Not too many backed them for relegation initially but when the transfer window shut you were really fearing for them as the team was already full of Championship players and they looked like they needed more Premier League quality.
“That meant that the biggest thing they had on their side was the manager, who kept the fans on side and stopped a toxic atmosphere creeping into the club.”
The Liverpool legend then issued an ominous warning about the Magpies’ future by saying it would be the biggest danger for the club if they let Benitez walk away.
“The priority has to be to convince Benitez to stay because even the fans would understand if he walked away due to lack of funding again,” stated Thompson.
“They can’t make assurances to him again and not back it up because the biggest danger for the club is him walking away.”
OPINION
Thompson is not alone by being blown away by the job Benitez has done at St James’ Park this season. Not only did the Magpies secure their Premier League status for next season, they did it with several games remaining. When you look at the squad Benitez had available to him, it’s absolutely mind-blowing that he was able to keep the Magpies where they belong. The manager was not even handed enough resources to strengthen his side in January. Aside from not welcoming enough new faces in either transfer window, the Magpies didn’t exactly have any hidden gems hiding in their academy that were anywhere near ready for the first-team to call upon. So it’s absolutely amazing that Benitez has been able to get the best out of his squad. The Spanish manager even managed to send supporters home happy on the last day of the season by beating Chelsea. Hopefully Benitez is at St James’ Park next season as he can take the Magpies to the heights they deserve to be at if handed the tools to do so.
