Rafa Benitez has guided Newcastle United back to the Premier League.
Benitez’s side secured their place back in the top flight with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Preston North End on Monday night at St James Park.
Newcastle were heavy favourites to get out of the Championship this season.
However, considering Burnley are the only other side in the past five years to earn automatic promotion back to the Premier League at their first attempt, it wasn’t a certainty.
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Benitez’s role has been significant.
The former Liverpool manager arrived too late to keep them in the Premier League last season, but appears to be building something at the Magpies and has the full backing of the supporters.
Unlike at his previous club.
Newcastle, despite Benitez’s reportedly tense relationship with the club’s owner, appears to be a much better fit for the 57-year-old than Real Madrid.
Benitez has said as much in the wake of the club’s promotion, and couldn’t resist a dig at Madrid, the club which sacked him in January 2016, half-way through his first season as coach.
“Here you are valued and there is no politics and strange things behind (the scenes),” Benitez told Spanish radio.
“In England, they respect professionalism and work, not like in some places.”
Benitez began last season at Real Madrid and ended it getting relegated with Newcastle. Yet, he seems to prefer life on Tyneside to managing Madrid’s squad of superstars.
The Spaniard lasted until just after Christmas at Real, and few players or fans shed any tears when he was sacked. It was arguably always going to end that way for him at the Bernabeu.
Benitez is something of a micro-manager, who wants control over most aspects of first-team affairs and provides his players with detailed tactical instructions.
Florentino Perez, the club president, sacks managers on a whim.
We can’t imagine Marcello enjoyed Benitez telling him to stop running around like a headless chicken. And Sergio Ramos definitely wouldn’t have appreciated Benitez asking him to stop getting sent off.
Benitez also revealed that Newcastle will have £70m to spend in the summer transfer window.
