Former Newcastle United player Mick Quinn believes that boss Rafael Benitez needs to improve along with the rest of his players.
He reckons that the Spaniard should not be exempt from any criticism after his side’s poor run of form in the Premier League, but maintains that Benitez is the right man to lead the Magpies forward, even if he does set up his teams with a defensive mindset.
Quinn adds that he is confident that Benitez will turn Newcastle’s fortunes around and get their season back on track – even if he has made some mistakes this term.
“I love Rafa Benitez. I have so much respect for him as a manager, and I think Newcastle United are blessed to have him. But he is not above criticism. Like every single player at that club, he needs to up his game again, too,” he wrote in his column for the Chronicle.
“No manager can fail to win any of their first seven games of a season, including four defeats at home, and expect to absolved of any sort of responsibility. Sometimes he sets up teams to be pragmatic too, when ideally I’d always like to see Newcastle attack when possible.
“At Newcastle this season, Rafa has made errors, too. But I am more than confident he will start getting things right. Whether it be through a change of personnel, system, or something else, Rafa will find a way to get Newcastle winning again. He’s too good a manager not to.”
OPINION
Quinn is absolutely spot on here – Benitez should be accepting some of the responsibility for his side’s lack of form so far. The players alone cannot be blamed, and the Spaniard should obviously be at fault for the way he is setting them up to play. As Quinn pointed out, his tactics are too “pragmatic” – and this is arguably what is letting them down at the moment. He goes into every clash with a defensive mindset, and this simply cannot be the case going forward. United need to be more attacking and take matches by the scruff of the neck, rather than set back and let their opponents walk all over them. However, Quinn has faith in Benitez to get it right – and there is no doubt that the will do just that. A manager of his experience and calibre is too good not to address United’s current problems – and fans will have their fingers crossed that their club will come out the other side with more points on the board.
