Rafael Benitez says Newcastle contract is a 'tricky' situation
Saturday 5 May 2018 07:24, UK
Rafael Benitez says discussions over extending his contract as Newcastle manager will be "tricky".
Benitez has a year left to run on his current Newcastle deal and has previously indicated he will only stay on at St James' Park if he gets the guarantees he wants about the club's ambition and the funding to back it.
Asked if he wants to stay, Benitez said: "That is a tricky question. I said in an interview the other day I decided to stay because of the potential, the fans and the city. Then we have to do what we have to do."
Benitez, who confirmed that contract talks are ongoing but have made no significant developments, vowed to continue to fight his corner, while insisting his was not a negative approach.
He said: "Sometimes people think that is negative, but I think it is a positive because it means you care. I am not thinking about myself.
"At Valencia, they said, 'We will give you this player and you can make him into a proper player', so sometimes it is negative against me because I can work with players and improve them and they think you do not need to spend too much money.
"But if you want to go to another level, you need more quality."
Benitez takes his Newcastle side to Watford on Saturday but he will have to make do without winger Christian Atsu, who has undergone knee surgery.
He said: "It wasn't a big issue, but he had some discomfort and we needed to fix the problem now to be sure that next year, he is fine."
