Chris Sutton has praised Newcastle United’s progress under Rafa Benitez this season, but has suggested that the club have a “lot of work” to do to keep hold the Spaniard.
Despite losing to Arsenal on Monday night, the Magpies sit seven points clear of the relegation, and seem all but assured of safety.
Speaking on Radio 5 Live, as quoted in the Chronicle, Sutton was quick to praise the Toon Army for an impressive campaign,
He said: “I think they need one more win. I think it’s been a pretty decent season – they’ve had all sort of problems so for them to survive another season in the Premier League is big.
“So credit to Rafa Benitez but they have a lot of work to do this summer in terms of Rafa Benitez.
“If Newcastle want Rafa to say then he will think ‘I’ve had enough of fighting relegation, keeping you in the league and I want to take you a bit further’ so him staying will depend on him getting the money to spend.”
OPINION
You would have to say that, all things considered, Sutton is pretty much bang on the money here. Yes, the Magpies have had a pretty decent season, especially given how horrendous they looked at the start of it, and yes, they look pretty much nailed on to survive in spite of a glut of issues on and off the field, so why shouldn’t they get some credit when credit is due? Strangely, however, now that they look pretty much home and hosed, this is where the big work starts. Keeping Benitez is an absolute must. Without him, this side would be relegation fodder, and he has to be retained at all costs. The only way they are going to convince him to stay is by convincing him that his ambitions for the club can be realised, and so in many ways, this survival should be looked at not as a finality, but as the first step in a much longer journey towards the top eight.
