Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan has said that Newcastle United must keep their ‘fantastic’ manager Rafael Benitez at the club.
The Spaniard is in the final few months of his contract with the North East giants and Whelan has urged owner Mike Ashley to ensure that Benitez stays where he is.
“Newcastle have a fantastic manager and must do everything they can to keep hold of him,” the BBC pundit told Football Insider. “Newcastle have some good players but Benitez is the biggest player and the most important man at the club.
“What he’s done with the players he’s got is amazing. He’s got the best out of the players available and, without him, Newcastle would be in real trouble. Newcastle are a huge club with the pressure to perform and Benitez has worked wonders there. I’m so impressed with everything he does – the way he goes about his job, his eye for detail. Mike Ashley is lucky to have him and can’t afford to lose him.”
OPINION
Whelan is absolutely spot on, here. Benitez is the single most important individual at Newcastle and so it is absolutely crucial that he stays at the club. It seems like that is the plan for all parties, and Benitez certainly wants to remain where he is, but progress has been frustratingly slow. As Whelan says, Newcastle would be far worse off than they are without Benitez in charge. This isn’t a particularly good Premier League squad by any stretch of the imagination, so the fact that they are pretty much safe from relegation at this stage of the season is quite something. That’s down to Benitez and how well he sets his team up and goes about his business. He is absolutely top drawer and at any other club he would have had his contract extension sorted out a long time ago. However, this is Newcastle we’re talking about, so of course it’s going to go right down to the wire.
