Newcastle turns to Rafa as McClaren axed
Print Edition
NEWCASTLE United put its faith in Rafael Benitez yesterday, hoping the Spaniard will keep it in the Premier League after the Magpies won only six of 28 league games under the sacked Steve McClaren.
McClaren, who had been head coach for the last nine months, was dismissed only hours before the club announced Benitez was taking over on an initial three-year deal.
Reports said there was also an opt-out clause if Newcastle is relegated this season.
Former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss Benitez, 55, has only 10 matches to save United, with the first of those games coming at league leader Leicester City on Monday.
“It will be a challenge not just for me and my staff but for the players, the club and the fans,” Benitez said of the task facing him.
Newcastle is 19th in the 20-team league having won only six league games under McClaren, whose fate was sealed when Newcastle was beaten 1-3 at home by Bournemouth last weekend.
Benitez has been without a team since he left Real in January, and Newcastle will be the third English club to employ him following his six years at Liverpool between 2004 and 2010.
His greatest achievement with an English club was leading Liverpool to victory in the 2005 Champions League final with a penalty shootout win over AC Milan after it trailed 0-3 to the Italians at halftime.
Benitez also served as Chelsea’s interim manager in the 2012-13 season, guiding the Blues to victory in the Europa League final over Benfica before he left the club.
The Spaniard certainly knows how to get results but his preferred, mainly defensive, style is not universally popular with fans.
He likes to use a 4-2-3-1 shape which has brought him success both domestically and in Europe. Newcastle said Benitez would bring coaching assistants Fabio Pecchia, Francisco de Míguel Moreno and Antonio Gomez Perez with him.
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