Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given has urged the club to keep hold of manager Rafael Benitez.
The Spaniard is now in the final two months of his Magpies contract, and Given believes it would be disastrous if he were to walk out the St James’ Park exit door.
“I think it’s imperative that he stays I really do, he’s a fantastic manager and the job he has done at the Toon has been phenomenal especially working under a very limited budget in comparison to other clubs in the Premier League,” he told The Chronicle.
“I think he gets the city and the fans too and it would be a major concern if he left in the summer.”
OPINION
Given is absolutely spot on, here. It’s a bit of a broken record at this point, but we can all agree that it’s absolutely imperative that Benitez remains in charge at Newcastle. Given obviously feels exactly the same, and it’s hard to see why anyone would think any different. Mike Ashley is probably the only person associated with the club who isn’t adamant that the manager remains in charge. Unfortunately, he’s the person who really matters in this situation. Given’s right, though, the job Benitez has done at Newcastle has been unbelievable. He has got the club positioned as a stable Premier League side who could go on and do even better with a bit of backing from the club’s board. It would indeed be a major concern if Benitez left the club this summer, but hopefully that’s not something that’s going to end up happening. Fingers crossed Benitez sees how much people want him to stay and it’s enough to overcome his reservations about the owner.
