Benitez: Fans drove met out of Chelsea
Rafa Benitez believes a vocal minority drove him out the Chelsea exit door.
And that’s why he will never take for granted the love shown to him by Newcastle United’s support.
The Spaniard is the last Blues boss to lift a European trophy – the Europa League in 2013. And heading back to Stamford Bridge today for the first time since his departure, you’d think a warm reception would be guaranteed. It is certain to be frosty.
The Magpies’ manager left under a cloud, amid ‘not wanted, never wanted’ and ‘the interim one’ banners.
Reflecting back on his time in London, Benitez has revealed his relationships with those at the top of the club were positive, but some fans never took to him on the terraces. “A group of fans weren’t good to me. And you can always here those who were more vocal, it doesn’t mean they are the majority,” he said. “I can tell you, a lot of fans were happy with me. At the end, I had a lot of messages telling me I did really well. “All the feedback that I had from the professionals and the board was very positive.
“They couldn’t manage with what happened with some fans.
“Most fans realised the best way was to stay calm and let us do our job.
“We achieved what they were expecting. In the end, they had to decide and decided they had to change.
“Initially, he brought me to save the team and to achieve what we did achieve. Afterwards, they thought they had to change, and they did.”