Rafa: I want to do things in right way ... like at Liverpool and Chelsea

RAFA BENITEZ has admitted that loyalty and professional pride are keeping him at Newcastle United.

The Toon boss is ready to battle on despite being unhappy over club owner Mike Ashley’s refusal to s splash the cash after the Magpies’ return to the Premier League.

Ashley promised Benitez “every last penny’’ generated following promotion to strengthen his squad after he was denied any spending in the January transfer window.

Benitez (above) has spent around £30million this summer – the profit he made after player sales when the window closed last August – and Newcastle have recouped at least £12m this close season through outgoing deals.

The signings Benitez has made this summer have hardly been met with a frenzy of excitement on Tyneside.

And fans of local rivals Sunderland mocked the £4.5m arrival of Atletico Madrid full-back Javier Manquillo (below), who was a major disappointment while on loan with the relegated Black Cats last season.

Benitez’s infuriation and frustration has mounted in recent weeks over the lack of progress in recruitment.

But ahead of today’s season opener at home to Tottenham – a repeat of the Geordies’ last top-flight fixture when they won 5-1 despite already being relegated – Benitez delivered a message of unity.

He said: “From the beginning, I was working very hard to get the targets we had and we couldn’t do it. I was asking why? But you have to put everything together.

“We have this problem and that one, and you say, ‘What do you want to do?’ I want to stay.

“That’s because we were fighting so hard to be here, behind the city, behind the team, and the city are behind you and your team. It’s a pity, but we will try to do our best.

“You are pushing to try to change things and do things in a normal way.

“If I am here and they pay me the salary they pay me, it’s because they trust me. And then it’s because I have won something and we are doing things in a professional way.

“We are not demanding crazy things. We are demanding just to do