Rafa: Give me a team to compete or I’ll walk

RAFA BENITEZ has warned Mike Ashley he will quit Newcastle and is prepared to ‘stay at home’ and wait for a club to match his ambition. Sportsmail reported yesterday that Newcastle are determined to keep the Spaniard, whose contract expires this summer. Benitez and the club, however, are yet to agree on a vision for the future and, until the boss is given certain guarantees over recruitment and investment, he will not sign a new deal. He wants to know that there is a desire to challenge in the top half of the Premier League and has sent a strong message to the owner, breaking his vow to keep talks in house. Benitez (right) said: ‘What I want is to get a job where I can enjoy competing. If I cannot, maybe I have to stay at home and wait. ‘We need a team that can compete in the Premier League and not just survive. I think there are ways we can do that, but we have to make sure we are of the same opinion. ‘It has to be a team that, when you play against anyone, you are sure you can win. Not that a draw will be a great result. ‘When I decided to stay here in the Championship, it was to compete, to get back to the Premier League and try to be in the top 10. After that, try to go to Europe. That was my idea in the first year. Now we have to decide if we want to achieve something more.’ Benitez celebrated his 59th birthday this week and revealed he intends to manage until he is 70. He watched the thrilling Champions League tie between Manchester City and Tottenham and said he still longs to be part of the competition he won with Liverpool in 2005. ‘I want to compete for trophies,’ he said. ‘The best trophy is the Champions League, so yes, I want to have the possibility, in the next 11 years, to win it again.’