OPINION
Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez is no doubt one of the most experienced managers in the Premier League after his stints at the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.
His future – still – remains up in the air, with Mike Ashley yet to resolve the whole furore surrounding his new contract. This is something that the fans will be looking at with tense trepidation.
However, if there is one thing we can learn from Benitez’ time at Newcastle so far, it is that the club would not be where they are now without him guiding them through the motions.
“The team has achieved great things but maybe with another manager we would have struggled even more,” Ayoze Perez said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The mainstay – who has made 36 appearances this term – is absolutely spot on about his manager here. You can have a great team, but without a figure in the hotseat who really knows what he is doing, then you are going to go nowhere.
This is why the supporters count themselves as being incredibly lucky despite the lack of success. Benitez is not someone who should be taken for granted after the amount that he has achieved.
Some supporters are no doubt still pinching themselves that they have someone like the Spaniard on board at the moment. If it were any other club who had Benitez as their boss, his long-term future would have been figured out by now for sure, but this is Ashley we are talking about here.
The Magpies would have been major contenders for the drop this term if Benitez had left them in the lurch. There is not enough depth in the squad, other managers would have found this very hard to work with – but not him.
Perez has hit the nail on the head here, as Newcastle would be a lot worse off without him leading the way.
