We’re better off with these boys than head cases of 2016
WHATEVER the limitations of his squad, Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez knows his players remain passionately committed to keeping the club in the Premier League.
It wasn’t always like that though. They face fellow strugglers Southampton today propping up the table and without a win since May.
But Benitez far prefers to go into battle with the current crop than the ones he inherited from Steve McClaren.
He still shudders at memories of his first visit to St Mary’s as Toon chief in April 2016, five weeks after taking over.
Newcastle lost 3-1 and afterwards Jamaal Lascelles, now captain but a fringe player then, launched an angry tirade against some of his team-mates.
Benitez kept his counsel that day but the fact Lascelles was handed the armband within months says everything about what he was thinking as the Magpies hurtled towards relegation.
They are in a mess once again but the manager has no complaints about the attitude and character of this team.
“There are big differences,” he said when asked to compare the current Newcastle to the one when he first arrived.
“Then we had a lot of players with experience but their attitude, commitment and passion, I am not saying they did not have it, but maybe some of them, in their heads, they were already out of the club.
“This group now, they know they have to keep working hard like last year. The message from our fans is always that they want a team who cares.
“Well, this group definitely cares – 100 per cent.”
The Toon Army will also be consoled by the Spaniard’s insistence he is still enjoying life at St James’ Park, not merely playing out the remaining months of his contract.
Despite his fraught relationship with owner Mike Ashley and the frailties within a squad starved of major investment in the summer, he does not even rule out signing a new deal.
But much will depend on Newcastle’s Premier League status and whether he can be persuaded Ashley shares his ambitions.
Future
For a man who joined the club, excited by their potential and convinced he could establish them as a top-eight side, he has now been reduced to admitting that he just hopes there are three worse clubs than his this term.
Asked directly if he could stay beyond next summer if the club backs him in the New Year transfer window, he said: “Yeah, I am happy here. We still have plenty of time to talk about the future. The main thing is to be sure we do what we have to do on the pitch.
“Then we go into January and hopefully, we can do things right. If so, we have more chance to survive.
“Last year we were at the bottom and then did things right and finished 10th, so that is an example for this year.
“I am not happy with the situation because we’re bottom of the table but I have to deal with it.
“First, we have to win one game and then start picking up points and confidence.”
Meanwhile, Benitez has urged Toon midfielder Jonjo Shelvey not to give up on England, despite being continually snubbed by boss Gareth Southgate.
The former Liverpool manager added: “If we start winning games and he is playing well, they will keep an eye on him. A player with his quality will always have a chance.”