Andros Townsend has openly admitted that he is ‘making the same mistakes’ at Everton as he did at Newcastle and Rafa Benitez is still trying to change that, as he told talkSPORT (07/09/21 at 9:35 am).
The 30-year-old shared that Benitez, who coached him at Newcastle, is trying to ‘correct them’ at Goodison Park.
Townsend was only at St James Park for a six-month period during the 2015/16 Premier League season, when the club got relegated, but he left his mark and was a popular figure with the fans during that period.
Benitez only worked with him for several months also, but now he will have a lot longer period to fine-tune his game on Merseyside.
Nonetheless, the former Tottenham man shared what Benitez is now like and what he is trying to change in his game.
“He hasn’t changed one bit,” said Townsend. “I had such a great spell at Newcastle because of Rafa.
“He works so hard. He leaves no stone unturned. He wants the absolute maximum out of his players. He has literally picked up where he left off.
“I am still making the same mistakes when I left Newcastle. Rafa’s trying to correct them. My goal against Huddersfield was me creeping into the box and getting a tap-in.
“He has worked tirelessly since I was at Newcastle and now at Everton to try and get that out of me. To try and get more goals out of me.”
Townsend might just prove to be one of the signings of the summer, especially given that he was a free transfer.
It could even been argued that the left-footed winger walks into Steve Bruce’s XI because they could do with a player of his quality in their XI.
In truth, the Magpies could do with a coach like Benitez in the dugout, but it’s quite clear that those days have now passed.
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