Rafa hints at staying after fan love-in

THEY were already well served from a booze cruise down the Thames but the Toon Army were drunk on love for Rafa Benitez by the end of a match which could yet prove his last as Newcastle boss. ‘Rafa Benitez, we want you to stay,’ implored 3,000 away fans after a victory as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests. Owner Mike Ashley was here to witness the serenading of the Spaniard but he is seldom in tune with emotions of supporters, and, as such, his manager’s future remains unresolved. A meeting in London this week will determine if a deal can be reached. Benitez wants Ashley to prove his ambition for more than mere survival and has sounded more hopeful in recent days. ‘He (Ashley) came to say thank you very much to the players in the dressing room,’ said Benitez. ‘We will have a meeting hopefully this week and see where we are. ‘I can see the potential of this massive club and hopefully we can do things to move forward together.’ It was fitting that Salomon Rondon capped the win with his 12th goal of the season as Benitez wants the club to relax the policy on buying players under 26 and sign the West Brom loanee, even though he turns 30 this year. Jonjo Shelvey opened the scoring with a 20-yard volley, Ayoze Perez poached a second on 11 minutes and Fabian Schar headed home just after the hour. The scoring was complete when Rondon accepted Perez’s pass before tucking home at the second attempt. ‘In the end, it was a very good season,’ said Benitez.