Rafa Benitez has confirmed he is considering staying on at Newcastle United despite the club dropping into the Championship and said he will make a decision within the next two weeks.
Benitez took over from Steve McClaren at Newcastle with 10 games of the season remaining but was not able to guide the club out of the relegation zone, and their demotion was confirmed when Sunderland beat Everton on Wednesday.
Benitez, who was sacked as Real Madrid boss in January, inserted a break clause into his Newcastle contract allowing him to leave if the club failed to beat the drop, but he has confirmed he is talking to managing director Lee Charnley about the prospect of staying on.
“We have a good relationship,” he told a news conference on Saturday. “He is professional and so I am. We first have analysed what went wrong, but the meetings were quite positive. We will continue.
“If I decide to come here it’s because it’s a massive club and we have the fans. I am flattered with them. There will be more meetings.”
Benitez added: “We have to talk and we have more meetings then we will see what happens. If I’m here and discussing it, it’s because there is a chance. We have to keep talking.
“We need a structure to allow the club to compete. I am happy to discuss all of these things. I am pleased with the first conversation.”
On when he expects to make his decision, he said: “It could take a couple of weeks, maximum.”
The former Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli boss said he is eager to see that Newcastle lay the foundations to ensure success.
“I want the same as the fans — a successful team, a strong team and to get promoted to the Premier League as soon as possible,” he said.
