Rafael Benítez seeks backing from Mike Ashley before extending Newcastle stay

Louise Taylor

Updated 22 April 2018 at 5:30 pm

Rafael Benítez has guided Newcastle United to Premier League safety and a possible top-10 finish but has warned he will need support from the owner, Mike Ashley, next season.

Rafael Benítez seeks backing from Mike Ashley before extending Newcastle stay

Rafael Benítez has warned Mike Ashley that the Newcastle United owner should not expect him to perform “miracles” every season and made it clear he will need convincing that his ambitions can be met on Tyneside before extending a contract now entering its final year.

Newcastle head to Everton on Monday night, safe from relegation and on course for a top-10 finish following four successive wins. Considering the shallowness and inexperience of Benítez’s squad that represents a significant achievement for a team promoted only last spring but the former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager now wants to raise the bar appreciably and try to win trophies on Tyneside.

Before agreeing a new deal, Benítez will demand assurances that Ashley feels the same way. “If they [Ashley’s representatives] want to talk to my people [about a new contract] they can talk,” the 58-year-old said. “The main thing is to be sure we share the same ambition.

“I want to win games and I want to win trophies and I want to have the tools to be capable of competing. At the same time. I like to improve players, coach players, follow a business plan, a realistic business plan in modern football. I have no problem with that because I did it in the past.

“We have to be sure to have all the tools to compete and achieve what we want to achieve because Newcastle is a massive football club and we want it to reach its potential.”

The fear is that Ashley will be content with this season’s mid-table finish and believe that Benítez can improve on it with similarly limited resources next term. “I cannot do miracles every year,” the Spaniard said. “You need the tools to be sure you can do your job, to be sure you can win. It’s not just ‘oh, the manager is calm, he has vast experience,’ because I don’t play. We need experience on the pitch. We can improve a lot of things.

“My objective is not to finish ninth, it is to win titles and cups. To be in the top four, to win trophies, to win the league, or whatever, that’s I want to do. Not just survive or finish in mid-table. I want to be sure we can fight for trophies.”