Two losses bad news for Newcastle coach
JUST two games into the English Premier League season and Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez is already finding himself under the pump.
With back to back defeats against Tottenham and Huddersfield Town, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss has brushed aside claims he is fuelling the negativity surrounding the club.
The 57-year-old Spaniard has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the Magpies’ rebuilding work to date, and the two opening losses have simply added to the gloom hanging over St James’ Park.
As a result club owner Mike Ashley’s PR adviser Keith Bishop paid a visit to the training ground on Tuesday.
Pundits Jamie Carragher and Joey Barton have both suggested Benitez himself is responsible for at least some of the negativity, but Benitez insists a return to winning ways – Nottingham Forest are due on Tyneside for a Carabao Cup second round tie tonight – would solve many of the current issues.
“If you win, everyone is happy. If you lose, everyone is not happy. When you lose, you have to be upset. Hopefully we can change that,” he said.
Asked specifically about Barton’s assertion that he should stop moaning and start coaching, Benitez said: “I am concentrating on my job.”
Newcastle, of course, is a club which has too often found themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons, and Ashley’s admission that they cannot afford to give Benitez the money he would like for transfers has led to predictions it will all end in tears once again.
However, Benitez believes whatever happens during what is left of the transfer window, he will be in a better position on September 1 than he is now.
“September 1 will change everything, simple. If you have your team, your squad, it will be easier for me to get a message across,” he said.
Asked if he is confident he can keep the club in the top flight, Benitez replied: “Yes. It is something we have done well for years and working hard, we have the feeling that we will improve.”