Dwight Gayle has pleaded with Newcastle United to keep Rafa Benitez this summer and for owner Mike Ashley to back him with transfers.
Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle is the latest player to plead with the club over keeping Rafa Benitez, after finishing 10th in the Premier League and comfortably avoiding relegation.
With around £39 million in total spent on permanent additions, but with some canny loan deals – including Chelsea’s Kenedy and Sparta Prague’s Martin Dubravka – the Spaniard kept the Magpies plugging away through a tricky first half of the campaign and eventually led the club to a respectable finish.
And regular first-team striker Gayle believes future Premier League success depends on the Newcastle manager staying beyond the summer.
“It is crucial that the boss stays,” he said in quotes via the Express. “There is a bit of concern that he could go but I am confident he will stay and be with Newcastle next season.
“All the players want the boss to stay. They are so thankful for what he has done for the team. A lot of the players here have had their careers changed for the better.”
The 27-year-old asserts that Newcastle must bring in reinforcements in the summer if they are to continue growing, but admits that the highest quality players will be hard to attract after just one year back in the Premier League.
“It is vital you look to improve, but also that you bring in players that are not going to affect the squad mentality and break the team up,” he added. “After just coming into the Premier League for the first year, it’s going to be tough to just then attract the big players. It’s a slower process.”
Fellow Newcastle striker Ayoze Perez was the first to issue a passionate plea to the upper echelons of the club over securing the manager’s future earlier this month, via quotes from Chronicle Live, and many others are beginning to follow suit the longer the situation is officially unresolved.
That speaks volumes about how the Newcastle boss is perceived by his squad, but only time will tell if he remains at St. James’ Park next season.
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