Newcastle United are going strong in the Championship at the moment.
Former West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland striker Don Goodman said on the Sky Sports Now show on Sky Sports News HQ on Friday morning (broadcast from 10am, October 7, 2016) that he was surprised that Rafael Benitez decided to remain as the Newcastle United manager in the summer.
Benitez was appointed the Newcastle manager in March 2016 following the departure of Steve McClaren.
The former Liverpool and Valencia boss was brought in to make sure that the Magpies do not get relegated from the Premier League.
Newcastle, though, did go down to the Championship at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, but Benitez stayed on and is now in charge of the team in the second tier of English football.
The Spaniard is one of the best tacticians in world football, and has managed some of the biggest clubs in the world, such as Madrid and Chelsea.
Sky Sports pundit Goodman has admitted that he was surprised that Benitez decided to remain at St. James’ Park.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker has also praised the ex-Inter Milan boss for quickly adapting to the Championship.
“I was surprised that Rafael Benitez elected to stay,” said Goodman on the Sky Sports Now show on Sky Sports News HQ on Friday morning (broadcast from 10am, October 7, 2016).
“He must have had an incredible amount of assurances from the owners and the board, but once he did, I was really impressed with the fact that he took on board what the Championship is, and the obvious proof of that is the signings that he made.”
Newcastle are going strong in the Championship at the moment and are in the running for automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
The Magpies are currently third in the standings with 22 points from 11 matches, just three points behind leaders Huddersfield Town.
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