‘Rafa Benitez is happy and upbeat at Newcastle United’, Magpies star Matt Ritchie tells talkSPORT
Toon ace reassures fans there is harmony with the manager and team, who are fully focussed on football despite reports of unrest
Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has reassured fans that manager Rafael Benitez is ‘happy and upbeat’ at the club and there is harmony within the Magpies camp.
Various reports of unrest behind the scenes have threatened to derail Newcastle’s start to the new Premier League season.
Despite making a number of good signings, bringing in the likes of Kenedy on loan from Chelsea, signing midfielder Ki Sung-yueng from Swansea and striker Salomon Rondon on loan from West Brom, Benitez has been frustrated by the lack of funds being made available to him.
The Toon army are such big fans of their boss that a section of supporters have threatened to boycott the club if Benitez leaves due to his disputes with the board – using the Twitter hashtag .
Meanwhile, there were reports of a revolt in the dressing room, with players apparently refusing to speak to the media over a bonus dispute with the club.
There have been big question marks over how the Magpies will perform this season, but they put in a decent performance in the Premier League opener against Tottenham last week, where they were unlucky to lose 2-1.
And Ritchie has moved to calm fan fears over their manager’s future, insisting there is harmony within the Newcastle camp.
Asked if the manager is happy at St James’ Park, Ritchie told talkSPORT host Jim White on Friday: “I’d say so, yes, absolutely.
“In training he is very upbeat. One of his best qualities is he’s never too high and never too low, and I think that’s really important for a team like us, because we’re not going to win every game, we move onto the next one and try and improve.
“That’s one of the very important qualities he gives the group.
“There is absolutely harmony within the club, for sure. We had a really good pre-season, although we didn’t have really good results, we got a lot of minutes in our legs.
“I think the performance against Tottenham showed we’ve got a lot to work on but it also showed there are good things and positive things we can build on.
“With the protests, the fans are going to have their opinion and their say, but I can certainly reassure you that everything is very positive at the football club.
“As players we want to concentrate on the football. Everyone is focussed on trying to achieve better than last year.”