Rafa Benitez has led Newcastle United to promotion out of the Championship at the first time of asking.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez has suggested that his Newcastle future depends on whether he is optimistic about the direction the club is heading in, but added that he is currently confident about the chances of staying put, the Chronicle reports.
Benitez’s arrival has arguably been the best thing that has happened to the Magpies for a number of years. Despite being unable to save the club from relegation in his first few months in the job, he has led them to promotion out of the Championship at the first time of asking.
Understandably therefore, Newcastle fans will be desperate to see him stay and lead the side back in the top flight. And while the Spaniard was unable to offer anything concrete, he hinted that as things stand, he has no reason to leave his post.
“Do I have a decision to make about the future? I am quite confident that everything will be fine, but my focus is on the remaining games,” he said, as reported by the Chronicle.
“I need to talk with Mike and it depends on how things are going on going on whether I am optimistic. At the moment I am quite happy.”
With a number of players about to hit their prime, it appears that Newcastle have everything in place to re-establish themselves at the highest level, swiftly bypassing any relegation battles that newly-promoted sides often expect to be involved in.
But a key reason for their success has arguably been Benitez’s influence, as he commands the kind of respect that has led to the entire team buying into what he is trying to achieve.
And thus, keeping him at the club could be crucial to their chances of becoming a force of the English game once again.
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