RAFA TALKS UP MAGS
BENITEZ SEES POTENTIAL IF TAKEOVER GOES WELL, BUT HIS FOCUS IS ALL ON PALACE GAME
Rafael Benitez can understand why Newcastle United are attracting interest from potential buyers having seen the Magpies’ potential for himself.
Andrew Henderson, the lawyer tasked with selling the business after owner Mike Ashley formally put it on the market earlier this week, has received a series of credible enquiries to add to a group of interested parties who had already signed non-disclosure agreements, one of them understood to be from Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners.
Benitez has distanced himself from the frenzy of speculation which has followed Monday’s announcement, preferring instead to concentrate on today’s home Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.
However, the Spaniard said: “It’s one of the top sides in England if you put everything together. The question is, is it reaching its level? Obviously, no. “Can we do it? I think so.” Ashley insists he will only sell to a buyer who can invest more heavily in the squad that he has been able to, and while Benitez insists hard cash is not the only requirement, he has a vision for a brighter future.
Asked at what level the Tynesiders should be, he replied: “A higher level than we are at the moment. I think we can do better.
“This club has to be in the top 10. I don’t say that because of the fans or the city, it’s because you can see when you compare to other clubs you can see the potential is there.”
Benitez is being kept informed by managing director Lee Charnley, but he is not looking for detailed briefings.
“I was talking with Lee, and I was telling him I don’t need to know all the details, because it won’t change anything for me on a daily basis,” said Benitez.
Takeover talk has dominated Tyneside in recent days, but Benitez is adamant all that concerns him is the quest for another three points against Palace to build upon the club’s solid start to the campaign, which sees them sitting in ninth place.
He said: “I know that, reading the press in the last few days, it’s really important for everyone here. But I will not change my approach for this game and I will not change my approach for the next few games.”
Newcastle Under-23s lost 2-0 to Blackburn in Premier League 2 last night, with ex-Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback handed only his second start of the season.
Connor Thomson’s deflected cross and a Callum Wright strike won it for Rovers.