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Terry McDermott welcomes Rafa Benitez news

8 years ago
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Terry McDermott believes that Rafa Benitez can do a ‘Kevin Keegan’.

The former England midfielder has put in some years at St James Park, having had two playing spells in the 70s and 80s, then serving under a number of managers in more recent times.

However, it was his partnership with Kevin Keegan that everyone remembers, for older fans the memories of the pair getting promotion as players back in 1984, then of course the big one, Terry McDermott being Keegan’s ‘buffer’ when taking Newcastle United on a remarkable journey in the 90s.

McDermott says that Keegan showed that ‘good managers can do it at any level’ and that there is no reason why Rafa Benitez can’t do the same. Many people forgetting (or simply ignorant) anyway that Rafa has already managed successfully in the second tier in Spain.

A lot of rubbish is talked about football these days, trying to make out that it is some kind of exact science and ‘experts’ attempt to make it appear more complicated than it really is.

However, as Terry McDermott says, Benitez will ‘organise things on and off the park’, as well as being able to motivate both the crowd and team.

Those are surely the important things at any level of football, as well as appreciating which players can and can’t do it for you, which Rafa quickly sorted after a few weeks when arriving in March at St James Park.

McDermott is ‘thrilled’ that Rafa has agreed to a long-term stay and as Mark Lawrenson said last night, let’s hope Rafa Benitez is the one who can rebuild the club.

Terry McDermott talking to the Chronicle:

Rafa is ready made for the Magpies.

“I am thrilled he has taken the job permanently because I can see the club taking off under him.

“He will organise things on and off the park and he will motivate the crowd as well as the players.

“I don’t worry about him not having managed in second tier football (in England) because good managers can do it at any level as Kevin Keegan proved.

“KK took United up and then finished third and second in the Premier League.”

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