The Newcastle United boss has made a big impact since his arrival on Tyneside.
Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie and Isaac Hayden
Magpies star Isaac Hayden sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the Times, and explained how Rafa Benitez’ experience of working with some of the world’s best players has proven to be crucial in helping him gain the Newcastle players’ trust and respect.
The Tyneside outfit secured promotion to the Premier League during the long and arduous Championship campaign, despite the odd blip here and there, and the former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss deserves every bit of credit he gets for the manner in which he guided his side through what was always going to be a tough season.
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez celebrates
Benitez made a lengthy list of signings during last summer’s transfer window, and the 22-year-old versatile midfielder was one of those acquisitions, making the move from Arsenal, where he was mostly deployed as a deep lying central midfielder.
Hayden has been deployed at centre-back on numerous occasions by the Magpies boss during his time at St James’ Park, however, and he told the Times how the Spaniard used the example of his work with former Liverpool star Javier Mascherano as an example of how he could transform his game from a positional sense:
Javier Mascherano
“He’s got stories about players, the club, [which is] all good because it adds to my experience. I’d not played centre-half in two years and he said: ‘We’ve got injuries, we need you there. Then he said: ‘I remember when I had to tell Javier Mascherano to play at centre-half. That gave me confidence. He’s talking to me about things that he’s told Mascherano.”
The Argentine was considered as an orthodox central midfielder when he made the move to Anfield in 2007, before Benitez experimented with using him as a centre-back. The rest is history, as he has gone on to make his name as one of the finest central defenders in the business.
And the Newcastle man will be hoping that he can go on to emulate the Barcelona man’s career.
It will be interesting to see where Benitez deploys Hayden next term, and after a season that has been disrupted by injuries, it will be vitally important for the former Gunners star to enter the 2017/18 Premier League campaign in fine fettle from a physical perspective.
Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles celebrates with Isaac Hayden
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