Newcastle star Matt Ritchie has stressed the importance of Rafael Benitez staying at the club beyond this season.
Benitez has transformed the fortunes of the Magpies this season after a dreadful start, but uncertainty surrounds his future on Tyneside.
Reports suggest the Spaniard is stalling on a new contract and could walk away from St James̢۪ Park at the end of the season.
Ritchie, who has starred in a newly-found wing-back role, believes the club will struggle to find someone who stays so calm under pressure, particularly with everything going on off the pitch.
3
Ritchie heaped praise on Benitez
â€Å“He’s very good,†the Scot told talkSPORT.
â€Å“It’s massive that he does stay now, especially at the moment with the unrest among the fans.
â€Å“There’s no better man for the club. He’s seen everything.
LATEST FOOTBALL NEWS
â€Å“He’s been everywhere in football. He’s seen the highs and lows and he doesn’t ride with them.
â€Å“He’s always in the same mood. That spreads throughout the whole team and the whole club.
â€Å“We started really poorly this season and not once did the manager panic.â€
3
Matt Ritchie salvaged a point for Newcastle on Saturday
Newcastle̢۪s season has once again been riddled with fans protesting against the ownership of Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley.
And Ritchie admits the unrest has affected the team̢۪s performances.
â€Å“I understand the frustrations but, at the same time, it did start to affect the atmosphere around the stadium,” he added.
LIVE on talkSPORT
There are eight live commentaries across the talkSPORT network this week. Find out what they are and where to hear them, below...
- Germany vs Serbia (Wednesday) – talkSPORT 2
- Kazakhstan vs Scotland (Thursday) – talkSPORT 2
- England vs Czech Republic (Friday) – talkSPORT
- Walsall vs Barnsley (Saturday) – talkSPORT 2
- Shrewsbury vs Portsmouth (Saturday) – talkSPORT 2
- Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland (Saturday) – talkSPORT 2
- San Marino vs Scotland (Sunday) – talkSPORT 2
- Netherlands vs Germany (Sunday) – talkSPORT 2
â€Å“That’s no criticism towards the fans because they’ve been fantastic and I understand the unrest. But support is what the team needs.â€
Ritchie earned a vital point for Newcastle against his former club Bournemouth on Saturday after striking at the death.
The Scotland international helped the Cherries gain promotion to the Premier League in 2015 and turned heads by swapping the top-flight club for the Magpies, who were in the Championship when he completed his move in 2016.
3
He admits that while it was the toughest decision of his life, he couldn’t be happier with the way it’s all panned out,” he continued.
â€Å“It was pleasing to get the goal but it was a strange feeling after playing for Bournemouth and returning and scoring.
â€Å“It was the biggest decision of my life. At the time, I’d been at Bournemouth for four special years.
â€Å“From the minute I arrived there – the people, the manager, the players, we had such a special thing there. When I look back now, I look back with such fond memories.
â€Å“I thought it was a time when I needed a new challenge. Luckily enough we got promoted and it’s gone to plan.â€
Plymouth Argyle SACK manager Derek Adams and Paul Wotton The heavy defeat saw the Pilgrims drop into the League One relegation zone and needing to beat Scunthorpe United in their final league
Former Watford star John Barnes says the Hornets could use similar tactics to Leicester when they take on Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup final, live on talkSPORT. The Foxes frustrated Pep
FA Cup - talkSPORT
The construction of Tottenham's new stadium will not directly affect the club's transfer policy, chairman Daniel Levy has again told fans. Spurs made no signings in the summer, becoming the first
New Tottenham stadium not affecting transfer policy, says
Royal Baby name latest: Adrian Durham believes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should have called first child 'Raheem' instead of Archie The Manchester City forward is a role model and an
~ Royal Baby name latest: Adrian Durham believes Prince Harry
So it's going to take another night of heroics on foreign soil to keep Manchester United's Champions League dream alive. Man Utd vs Barcelona, Champions League | 10/04/2019 McTominay comes
Mourinho criticises Man United's 'awful' defending against
Sarri backs flop Higuain to fire in goals next season… if he stays at Chelsea amid transfer ban CHELSEA boss Maurizio Sarri has backed misfiring Gonzalo Higuain to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge next season if he remains a blue.
Chelsea news: David Luiz plays down Maurizio Sarri strop
Celtic have launched an investigation into the leak of a confidential document thought to be revealing their transfer plans this summer. Leaked photographs of the report have appeared on social media which details their plans for some contracted Hoops players as well as potential targets in each position.
Celtic news: Hoops launch probe into leak of document
A Leeds United fan somehow managed to break his ankle while celebrating Jack Harrison's winning goal against Sheffield Wednesday - and then shared the pictures on social media!
Leeds Fan Breaks Ankle While Celebrating A Goal, Waits Until
Virgil van Dijk (Dutch pronunciation: [vɑn ˈdɛik]; born 8 July 1991), is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for English Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Netherlands national team.
John Stones. Jamie Carragher slams John Stones for "stupid" errors in England's defeat by Holland. irishmirror.ie - Irishmirror.ie. Jamie Carragher launched an impassioned defence of 'playing it out from the back', slamming John Stones for his "stupid" mistakes.
~ Netherlands 3-1 England: Dutch fans sing 'Always Look On
City's euphoria quickly turned to dejection - and it was Tottenham's turn to go nuts instead as they advanced to the semi-finals - though someone had to come and find a distraught Moussa Sissoko to tell him Spurs had won after the midfielder left the pitch when Sterling's shot went in. Watch the remarkable scenes below:
Pochettino relives moment when VAR ruled out Sterling 'winner'
Liverpool vs Barcelona: John Aldridge slams 'rat' Luis Suarez over Champions League semi-final antics The former Anfield forward has been accused of being 'sneaky' and 'nasty' during last week
Liverpool vs Barcelona: John Aldridge slams 'rat' Luis Suarez
~ Danny Rose's comments a 'shocking indictment' about how racism is handled in football, say Professional Footballers' Association ~ Kenya Latest
Danny Rose's comments a 'shocking indictment' about how
No comments:
Post a Comment