Rafa Benitez says he is ‘100% convinced’ that his Newcastle United side will stay up this season – insisting that we will build confidence and improve if we keep ‘doing things right’. After a torrid start and constant off field issues to contend with, you wouldn’t blame the former Real Madrid boss for being downtrodden but he has come out fighting. Here is what Benitez said:
“I am convinced we will stay in Premier League…. but you can’t buy confidence on the 5th floor of John Lewis.”
“Everton, Bournemouth & Crystal Palace were in the bottom 3 after 9 games last season. None of them were relegated. We have to keep going. We have to keep doing things right, build confidence & things will improve”
“I have to do what I have to do so that we can win games.
“I am 100% convinced we will stay up“
Good words here from Rafa and it is worth considering even if we lose to Manchester United, we will have played 5 of the top 6 already. Ultimately, we need to win games against teams around us to stay up and the period between October to Christmas is going to be key for us. We were in the bottom 5 until spring last year and a few wins can change the outlook of the whole season.
We all know the ridiculous ownership of Mike Ashley continues to make news but Rafa knows we can’t let this affect the players as judging from the Leicester game, we need all the help we can get. Fans need to be united on the pitch and off it to get Ashley out but to keep Rafa too. Hopefully some of this belief from Benitez is passed onto the players who are more than capable of getting a few results between now and Christmas with some easier fixtures ahead.
After all, we need to stay up to have any chance of being taken over and with a few wins and some confidence, the mood amongst manager, players, perspective buyers and fans can totally change. Here’s hoping we can start a turnaround at Old Trafford tomorrow and pile more misery on Mourinho and Manchester United, something we know Benitez would particularly enjoy after the Liverpool Chelsea battles of the past.
You cannot buy it on the 5th floor of John Lewis, but doon in the basement cellar of HoF, 50% off………….. 😆
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