Rafa Benitez ‘has a lot of sympathy’ with Newcastle fans ahead of planned protest against owner Mike Ashley
Newcastle United supporters are set to protest against Mike Ashley’s running of the club outside St James’ Park before the match against Chelsea on Sunday
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Your support makes all the difference.Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has stated that he has “a lot of sympathy” for the club’s fans but has called for their continued support amid news that they are set to protest against Mike Ashley’s running of the club outside St James’ Park once again.
Chants of “We want Ashley out” rang out amongst the Newcastle faithful before the visit of Spurs on the opening weekend of the season, and although something similar is expected before the game against Chelsea, the Spaniard warned the fans to not take their eye off the main objective.
“I have a lot of sympathy for our fans because they are really good,” he said. “They know the club and the city and what it’s like to live here. They know all these things, they would like to see the club doing things in a certain way.
“All I say is when they come to the stadium they have to support the team because it’s the only way for us to be stronger. I have to respect them but concentrate on my job,” he added.
Benitez also denied that further discussions had taken place between him and the club regarding a new deal in the north east.
“We will wait and talk about that in the future,” he said. “My contract is not an issue. We have to concentrate on what is happening on the pitch. We have to try to do our best.”
However, the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager hopes that the future of Henri Saivet is clarified soon with the midfielder closing in on a move to Bursaspor.
“Saivet is getting closer but we are still waiting for a resolution in Turkey before it is confirmed. We are still working on it. (Achraf) Lazaar is still around because we did not have time to do it with Genoa.”
At the other end of the scale, the 58-year-old is hopeful that at least one of his new signings will be ready to start against Chelsea, and although he had hoped to make further additions before the transfer window shut, he has now focused his attention on the work he can do with the players he has on the training pitch.
“We are trying to maximise what we have in our squad. We know we are short in some areas, but you can improve by coaching. It is easier to buy what you need to solve it, but we need to do it with coaching now,” he added.
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