Newcastle United currently top the Championship table.
Former player Kieron Dyer believes that Rafa Benitez is the first Newcastle United manager since Sir Bobby Robson to achieve something big at the club as he backs them for promotion, The Telegraph report.
The Magies have not quite hit the same heights since Robson guided the club to Champions League football, spending numerous years in the bottom half and suffering two relegations to the second tier.
Rafa Benitez came in towards the end of last season but could not save Newcastle from the drop, yet his presence at St. James’ Park has been felt and supporters are right behind him.
Dyer, a former Newcastle player during Robson’s reign, feels Benitez will guide them not only to promotion but to ensuing success as he labels the Spaniard the club’s best coach in over a decade.
“I still keep a close eye on events there and I’m very excited about how things are going under Rafa Benítez,” Dyer told The Telegraph.
“For me, he is the first manager since Robson who can really achieve something big at the club. I think they’ll be back in the Premier League next season and I think they’ll go on to surprise a lot of people when they get there.”
Newcastle were widely regarded as the favourites to win the Championship this season, and despite losing their first two games of the season they appear back on course for an immediate return to the top flight.
Benitez’s men currently sit at the top of the table having won nine of their last 11 matches, including the last four in succession as they host goal shy Ipswich Town this weekend.
Benitez has a long way to go before matching the achievements of former great Robson at Newcaste, yet there is no doubt he has the ability and previous record to put the club back on the map.
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