Newcastle United have made a horrific start to their Premier League campaign, with immediate improvements needed to avoid relegation worries.
The Magpies currently have one of the best tacticians in world football at the helm, but not even he has been able to get the best out of what is a rather Championship-standard squad. Although, it appears as if he still has lots of faith in his side, as according to Sky Sports, Rafa Benitez thinks Newcastle can still be a top eight team.
Benitez concedes Newcastle are in a “bad position” at the bottom of the table, but he has been buoyed by positive talks with the club’s controversial owner Mike Ashley.
The Spaniard is confident he has Ashley’s backing and is sure he can guide the club in the right direction after a troubling start to the 2018-19 campaign.
Here’s what the Spaniard had to say:
“Yeah, I am happy here.”
“Last year is an example – we finished 10th after we did it in January. We can do something similar.
“Hopefully, we can be in much better position in January, then it will be easier.
“Do I still believe it’s a top eight team? What I said – if we do the right things, yes.”
THE VERDICT:
Rafa Benitez has had his critics in recent times but he did manage to secure promotion to the Premier League, and has had to deal with minimal backing from Mike Ashley up to this point.
Indeed, it comes as some surprise that the Spaniard has not looked to leave after how he has been treated at times, but supporters will be happy that he’s still setting high targets.
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