Benitez: ‘Mourinho’s mind games never bother me’
Rafa Benitez insists he doesn’t miss the mind games with Jose Mourinho – and he never worried about them anyway.
The managerial heavyweights traded verbal blows when Benitez was in charge of Liverpool and Mourinho was his rival at Chelsea.
Benitez’s Reds enjoyed two Champions League semi-final victories – in 2005 and 2007 – over Mourinho’s Blues.
But now Benitez is fighting to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, while Manchester United boss Mourinho tries to hang on to the coat-tails of runaway leaders Manchester City.
Benitez, who faces Mourinho at St James’ Park today, said: “When I was at Liverpool, I wasn’t worried about the mind games – I was worried about my team.
“The problem is, if you say something and then the other manager says something, and you win the game, people say you’re winning the mind games.
“No, because sometimes the other team is better than you or worse than you. Even if you make mistakes or lose the mind games, you can win the match.’’
Benitez knows he is in for another battle of wits with Mourinho, but stresses that quality on the pitch is key.
He said: “We played 16 times when he was at Chelsea, so we know each other really well.
“He can change things and mix things up, but it depends on the players.
“I can try to do this or that, but if my players don’t understand, I cannot do it.
“If you have top-class players and you tell them what you want them to do, even if they don’t do what you say, they can still do something different and win the game.
“I have been on the other side of things, but it’s totally different on this side.
“We had players like Steven Gerrard and I would say, ‘Look, Stevie, I want you to do this.’ He would then do it, maybe even better than you planned.
“With the team I have now, you have to prepare every single detail, but they can still make the difference with one thing you’re not expecting.’’
Benitez isn’t concerned about renewed criticism of Toon owner Mike Ashley unsettling his players.
Anti-ashley chants are growing in intensity again after he pulled out of takeover talks with Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners.
A lack of investment in the transfer window fuelled anger and fans unfurled a banner aimed at Ashley in the last home game with Burnley.
Quoting former Toon boss Kevin Keegan, it read: “Don’t ever give up on your club, keep supporting it.
“It’s your club and, trust me, one day you will get your club back and it will be everything you wanted it to be. Newcastle United is bigger than anyone.
“It hurts, I know, but just keep going, he is only one man, we are a city, a whole population. Trust me.”
But Benitez urged the Toon Army to concentrate on backing the team.
He said: “We’ve been talking about the takeover for a while and the transfer window, but the players know it depends on them. The people around them, it doesn’t need to affect them.
“My message to the fans always is just, ‘Stay behind the team.’ It’s the only way.’’