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Rafa Benitez gives very impressive one to one interview to Sky Sports

7 years ago
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On the eve of Newcastle’s game at Brighton, Rafa Benitez has given an exclusive one on one interview to Sky Sports.

After three wins in a row, the United boss was in an upbeat mood, as he was asked about the past, present and future at Newcastle United.

One of the things that particularly interested me, was when Rafa said ‘My background is a coach, not a manager, I have been working all my life as a coach to improve players. It is what I like to do’.

He also said that one of the big changes at the club is that he inherited 33 first team squad players and many of them knew they had no future at Newcastle. Rafa Benitez indicating that many of them weren’t properly motivated at the club and now instead he has 26 first team squad players who have ‘commitment’ and ‘desire’.

He also loves the fans reaction to that change in personnel, Rafa Benitez declaring ‘When the fans talk about them they say, ‘They care about the black and white shirt’, I think this is the most important thing’.

As for the Newcastle supporters themselves, the United boss says:To see a city, all the fans, dreaming…sometimes we have to keep feet on the floor – especially us the staff, but I am not worried about the fans dreaming’.

Rafa Benitez talking to Sky Sports:

‘Did your spell away (recovering from surgery) from the club do you good?’

“Sometimes you need time away and then you come back, then you have more energy and more desire, so sometimes it is good.

“It proved the work behind the scenes was good and the quality of the staff…and I think the professionalism of the players.”

‘How do you assess the season so far?’

“We have won three games but I know it is still quite difficult and we have to keep feet on the floor.”

‘It is a young team, is it easy to keep their feet on the floor?’

“It is easy to give them the right message and try to improve them because they listen to you.

“Sometimes, when you have players with a lot of experience they think they know.

“Even the players with experience here, they are keen to learn, and the advice they give to the younger players is quite positive. So at the moment it is an easy task.”

‘What has changed the most since relegation?’

“When I came towards the end of that season, we had 33 players, now we have 26.

“These 33, a lot of them knew they would not be here in the future. That meant the atmosphere was different.

With the 26 it is different – they know they will be here for some time – their commitment, their desire.

“When the fans talk about them they say, ‘They care about the black and white shirt’, I think this is the most important thing.”

‘Are you pleased that now all the talk is about the football, not what is happening off the pitch?’

“Yes, for any of them, any club, if you have the team doing well, the fans are talking about the football.

“I would like to have the same situation until the end of the season, that means it will be positive.

“To see a city, all the fans, dreaming…sometimes we have to keep feet on the floor – especially us the staff, but I am not worried about the fans dreaming.”

‘Do you feel your own future is still up in the air?’ 

“No, at the moment I am only focused on the games and improving the team we have.

“My background is a coach, not a manager, I have been working all my life as a coach to improve players. It is what I like to do.”

‘Ability is important at any club?’

“Yes, ability is for everything, in life, not just in football.

“In football, the main way is to win games, and that is what we are trying to do.”

‘What is your long-term vision here and is it possible to achieve that, or are things too much out of your hands?

“Yes, you have to have a plan. Then you have to have ideas, then try to implement these ideas. 

“We will have conversations about what we want to do but at the moment, we have some time until January to be sure what we want to do in terms of football is done.

“Then it depends on us trying to achieve what we want to achieve in every training session and every game. Our idea now is three points against Brighton, but we will soon be thinking about Liverpool, Crystal Palace, or another one.

“So it doesn’t change whether you have a long-term project or not. Our way is to prepare every day, every training session, as well as we can.”

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