Captain calls for Magpies to deal Rafa in
together and the city together. I think it’s important that the club keeps him happy and holds on to him for as long as possible.
“He is an excellent manager, he has won trophies, he has worked in many different leagues and he knows what it takes to be successful.
“It has only been positive since he arrived.”
United’s season has been dominated by talk of both Benitez’s future and the possibility of a takeover, with Amanda Staveley launching a takeover bid to buy Newcastle last year.
Speaking to the national newspaper, Lascelles said: “It does feel like a stable club at the minute.
“We’ve got a manager who trusts us and he wants to be here, the fans are with him, so that’s really important for the players.
“Now that the stuff with the owner and the takeover has died down, that helps.
“Whether it was going to happen or it wasn’t going to happen, it is less to think about as a player.
“We now know we are in a stable environment at a stable club. You might not really think about it much, but it [the takeover talk] probably did have an effect on some individuals.
“Of course, as a player you don’t want to be in a team where there is loads of paper talk about stuff not related to us.
“You don’t want anything negative coming out.
“Everything is running smooth now, everything is positive and I think it’s just down to us to make sure we keep the fans happy.”