During a chat with Spanish journalist Guillem Balague , Rafa Benitez has admitted that his relationship with Mike Ashley ‘isn’t as bad as people think’, reiterating that he’s only fighting for ‘the best’ at Newcastle United – just as he has at every other club he’s managed.
“My relationship with the owners, normally isn’t as bad as people maybe think it is.
“Because I’m fighting for the best for my club. So I am not fighting for what is best for Rafa Benitez.
“Normally I never have a problem with my contract. It’s just because I want to improve, I want to improve the Academy, or I want to bring better players and be more competitive.The fans appreciate that.
“It has been the same in Napoli, Liverpool, here (at Newcastle), Valencia.
“Then for professionals, they have this vision, they can go one step back and say listen; it’s improving my team, it’s improving my club, it’s improving my business – and I think that people, professionally they realise, and then their perception.. it depends.
“Now the social network, it changed everything in one minute. So people can criticise you today and in two days time they are praising you.
“Now, if you realise that it’s like this, then you stay calm. You make decisions in a better way.
“So if you are too hurried to do something, you will make more mistakes.
“You have to stay calm.”