Rafael Benitez has hit back at reports claiming he will exit the club in the summer, while stating he is not responsible for the negativity around St. James’ Park.
The Spaniard has reportedly received lucrative offers from the Chinese Super League, but he is willing to turn them down to stay in the North East.
However, Rafa has come under much criticism in recent weeks for being too negative with his tactics but admits he wants to stay in England.
Benitez told the Express:
I wanted to come to England to stay close to my family and then this club was an opportunity to be one of the top 10, that was my view.
I have had teams and agents talking with more money than here but still I want to do something here, I want to stay in England, I’m close to my family, the fans are fantastic so you try to do something properly. It’s a challenge but it’s a risk.
We are losing games and near the bottom of the table and that’s not a good situation. For this massive city to be in a relegation battle again, it’s a pity.
With a FA Cup third round draw against Championship strugglers Blackburn coming off the back of four winless games in the Premier League, Benitez insists he is a realist, rather than a pessimist.
The Magpies boss said:
The reality is we have to compete in a division when we cannot compete with Bournemouth who are spending money. Forget about the top six, we have to compete against the others and have to be realistic.
Am I happy going into every game saying “Can we get a point, can we get three?” No, but I have to do it. If I make a mistake with team selection or tactics whatever. Fine. But in my experience, I am not better than others but I make less mistakes.
We have to do things a bit better if we want to maximise the potential of the club.
